Of Death and Sand
by Malitia
Summary: Gaara and Itachi capture twins, Maliko and Tazze, hoping to have obtained powerful kunoichi. They are, infact strong, but stubborn. Can Itachi and Gaara make the girls obey? GaaOC ItaOC
1. Default Chapter

A/N ok so.. this is my very first fic, based on my own character.. Maliko, Tazze and then Kishimoto-san's characters in the Naruto series. Mostly Gaara nd Itachi. Gaara is 18. I will possibly put pictures of the chars in my profile... if i figure out how to do so.

Chapter One – Whats going on?

So what if they were from a familiar bloodline to them. So what if Konoha was suspicious because they had come from one of the more dangerous villages. It only showed them how quick people were to jump to conclusions when something bad happened. Even though they had lived in Konoha for about a year, the residents didn't feel the need to trust them.

Maliko and Tazze were officially from ZetsumeiGakure (the Hidden Death). It was a rarely spoken of village. Maybe it was rarely spoken of because of the lack of people. The population might have been around 65 people, 34 of which were excellent shinobi. ZetsumeiGakure was not to be trusted though, for the village was purely for assassinations sake. When people wanted someone assassinated, they went to the village of Death. And for a fee, the Death shinobi would annihilate whomever it was asked to, no questions asked.

Maybe that was why the Godaime of Konoha felt the distrust in Maliko and Tazze. Maybe it was because of the rumors that had come to her through travelers about two certain konoichi that had taken out their whole village in an act of rage. No one knew the reasons as to why the konoichi were so angry as to take out a whole village, including the women and children, but none the less, it was done.

Maliko and Tazze ran through the forest on the outskirts of KonohaGakure. Both of the girls could hear the soft patter of at least 14 ANBU. The twins didn't know where they would run to, they just knew to run or be subject to interrogation and possibly death.

"Maliko, how long do you think they'll keep on?" whispered Tazze through the her fast breathing.

"I don't know, but night is beginning to fall, so hopefully we can lose them in the dark. Can you hold out till then?". Tazee glanced at her sister and saw a hint of worry in her white-green eyes.

"H-Hai!". Tazze picked up her speed, hoping to gain a little bit more distance between them and the slowly gaining ANBU.

It all started three nights before when there was an attempt on the Hokage's life. Two masked ninjas snuck into the Godaime's quarters around 3 am and attempted to slit the sleeping Hokage's throat. The Godaime, for the assassins misfortune, was a very light sleeper and awoke before they were able to gouge her jugular vein. The two ninjas quickly did a jutsu allowing them to blend with the shadows, and escaped. The Godaime assumed Maliko and Tazze, for who else was there to accuse, but the two suspicious konoichi of ZetsumeiGakure.

Immediately after the attack, Tsunade had ordered the capture of the two girls for interrogation as to who wanted her dead. ANBU arrived but were only able to capture Maliko, for Tazze, under her sisters orders, went into hiding.

While in the hands of the ANBU's interrogation squad, Maliko soon found out what this was all about. After much yelling, beating, and threatening, Tazze had finally come for her sister. Tazze fought off four of the guarding ANBU and used her two katanas to carefully cut the interrogators throats with close to none effort. She wasn't a silent assassin for nothing.

Apparently, there was an ANBU observing the whole time. The ANBU captain quickly called for his squad, and were now currently pursuing the two seventeen year old girls through the Konoha forest.

"Sasuke! Where are those two heading?", yelled a certain blonde Leaf shinobi. He quickly evaded an oncoming branch and turned his head to look at the raven haired boy sprinting alongside him.

"How will we ever find out if we can never catch them because of your loud mouth, dobe?", hissed the Uchiha heir and Anbu captain. ' Those girls were quiet for a long time. I wonder what brought on the assassination attempt so suddenly.', Sasuke thought to himself.

"Boys, we better hurry, the border is less than a mile away. If they enter into the Wind country, the culprits will be under the Sand's rule. And who knows what the Kazekage will have up his sleeve nowadays.", said the silver haired jounin up ahead. Although Kakashi was now 32, he still moved with the expertise and grace of an elite Konoha jounin.

Eight minutes later, a large scream was heard up ahead. Sasuke and his team picked up their pace as much as they could, and after 30 seconds, they arrived at the scene. Across the border they could make out Maliko and Tazze inside a circular cage of sand, kicking and dealing punches to the sand bars, trying to fight their way free. About 3 feet away from the barriers of sand stood a very calm Gaara, and Kankuro, looking straight ahead as if they were waiting for the Anbu team to make their appearance.

Sasuke and his squad knelt and bowed their heads slightly and Kakashi rose his head and spoke.

"Kazekage-sama, we were ordered to retrieve these women, for they made an attempt on the Godaime's life. With all do respect, I must ask that you hand them over for Konoha to deal with.", he then bowed his head again, and awaited the response from Kankuro, the Kazekage.

"Unfortunately for you Kakashi, they are now within the Sand's borders. You may take word back to the Godaime to tell her we are now holding Zetsumei no Maliko and Tazze.", with that said, the four all disappeared in a swirl of sand and wind.

Kakashi and the rest stood up, adorned with disappointment.

"Shit.."

Ok be sure that I don't like OC's in stories, so only Maliko and Tazze are going to be OC's unless something comes up that requires more.. which doubtfully will happen. This is, keep in mind, my first fanfic, and my writing sucks deeply. So feel free to give constructive criticism and tell me what i can do better. Please review and let me know if i should continue. This is probably very short, and for later chaps, if people want me to continue, shall be much longer. Welp go on.

Owari

Malitia


	2. Enemies of Sand

A/N Welp, this chapter i think is dedicated to "eternal annoyance" and "Zoey Lives". Not as many as i would've hoped, to read this but i'm grateful anyways cus i really wanted to keep this story going. It will get better rest assured. Anyways, on with it then!

Chapter Two – Enemies of the Sand

"Gaara, please leave Maliko with me, would like a word with her. You may take the other to the cells.", said Kankuro with a certain air of pride about him. Gaara, who had been leaning against a wall by the door in the Kazekage's office, nodded his head and took the cuffed Tazze by her forearm and lead her out of the room, and down a flight of stairs. She had tried struggling for all it was worth, but with chakra draining shackles around her wrists, there wasn't much she could do.

Gaara lead the unwilling girl down a hallway towards the cells. He felt a light tugging coming from the arm he was holding.

"Do you think thats going to do much good? I've had children put up a better struggle.", said Gaara with an obvious tone of annoyance. Suddenly he was pulled down to the ground while trying to keep his grasp on her bicep. Gaara let go of her arm to sit on his knees, while he looked at the glare coming from the konoichi's pale grey eyes.

"What are you doing?"

Tazze crossed her legs and tipped her chin up in defiance. "You think a child is more of a struggle? Then i'll act the child." She continued to sit there, with closed eyes and her nose in the air in a snobbish way.

'Ugh, I heard these two were stubborn, but I never expected her to act like this' Gaara thought to himself. 'Oh well, nothing that can't be fixed.'

He picked himself up off the floor and proceeded to walk toward the girl. Her eyes snapped open at the sound of his first step and she scooted back, worried about his motives.

"Wh-what are you doing?!", she stuttered. He proceeded to take his time walking towards her, and when her back hit the wall at the end of the hallway, he lent down and looked into her worried face.

"Well if you aren't going to walk willingly, then i'll just have to take you myself." With that said, he bent down and picked her up, slumping he over his shoulder. He let her squirm and kick for about 30 seconds before she had tired herself out. As long as she had the shackles on, she could do no more than try and conserve her strength as much as they would allow.

He started walking again and shortly later arrived at a small cell. He set her down on the floor of the cell, not gently but not overly rough. With his job done, he walked out of the room and closed the barred door. He turned to walk away but was interrupted by Tazze.

"Hey! What about my sister?", she blurted out quickly before he had the chance to leave. He turned around to stare lazily in her direction.

"Kankuro has different plans for her." With that said he turned and walked away, feeling no need to drabble on about useless things.

'Maliko you better be thinking of a plan.'

"So.. Maliko. Do you want to tell me why you and your sister are host to the Byakugan but aren't originally from KonohaGakure?", chimed Kankuro, sitting down in a high backed chair behind his desk. The other two left about five minutes ago, in which that time, Maliko and Kankuro stood studying each other. She had been trying to form a plan in her mind, but couldn't seem to think of anything. Besides, what could she do since she was zapped of most of her strength and chakra. She figured she would just bide her time until the best opportunity made itself known.

"Are you going to answer me?"

"No..". She said, sounding like nothing was a big deal. ' Ugh I can't think straight when i'm low on strength. O well i'll get my revenge soon enough.' She thought to herself even though she wasn't stupid enough to know that she had hit rock bottom.

"Hmmm.. Well, I guess i'll have to persuade you then.", said the Kazekage in a calm manner.

She heard faint clicking and within the blink of an eye, Kankuro's marionette was behind her with a needle pointed to her back and a needle at her neck.

"What is it to you.", she hissed. This wasn't a good predicament on her part. 'I hope Tazze isn't in the same situation.'

"Well, I doubt that is of any importance to you, but I would like to know how you two came to get the Byakugan. You don't need to worry. No harm will come to you or your sister. That is unless you tell me of course. But, if thats the case, we could always go for a walk down to the cells, and slit your sister's throat." Ugh, he just had to threaten her with Tazze didn't he.

"Fuck, fine. We were born with it."

With that said, Kankuro's face immediately broke into a smile. He quickly composed himself and walked over to where she stood. He lifted up her bright red bangs to look at her forehead and noticed something interesting.

"So, if you were born with it, where is your seal. I know for a fact that you are not of the main house."

'Shit, how would he know anything about that?', she asked herself. Kankuro noticed the look of shock on her face and let her bangs fall back to her forehead.

"I know who the Hyuga heir is, and I am positive that you are not Hinata. So, care to answer my question? Why do neither of you have the seal."

She took a deep breath and sighed in defeat.

"A rogue Hyuga from the branch house in Konoha wanted to create a family that wasn't doomed with the curse. So he left when night had fallen and traveled to the hidden Death and met my mother. He told her the situation, and she obliged, eager to have strong and special children. Shortly after they conceived, the main house members in Konoha found out he was gone and activated the seal. They never thought that he would have created his own heirs with such little time, so everything was hushed up. We've never before, until now, told anyone our secret." She leaned against a wall and slid down, unable to stand anymore because of lack of strength.

"Well then, its decided. You will be my wife, and conceive my heirs." She snapped her head up too shocked to say anything. "Your sister however, has no use to me.". Maliko opened her mouth to say something but he cut her off. "I already know that your abilities are far more advanced that Tazze's. You are a valuable asset to The Sand, and our children will be a wonderful trump card. Temari was very smart indeed to suggest a mock assassination of the Godaime. Who knew that her plan would actually work and that Konoha would bring you right to me."

She bowed her head, too astonished to move or speak. They had framed them all for the soul purpose of driving her and her sister into their grasp. And for what! So she would carry the Kazekage's heirs.

"I will bid for you and your sister in an hours time. Until then, you will stay here while I talk with my siblings." He left the room chuckling softly, obviously pleased with himself. She heard the soft click of a lock, and sat in silence, confused of what to do next.

A/N – Wow, i didn't even know that was coming. I hope things got a little more spicier for you. R&R!!! and tell me if u don't like something or other.. anyways

REVIEW DAMNIT!!!!! pleased

Owari

Malitia


	3. What the hell?

A/N. Ok so this may just be a faze, but i'm having a strong urge to update this story every night. This urge probably won't go on forever, cus i tend to get lazy. But don't worry, i wanna keep goin on this, i might take a day of once in a while tho. If you have any suggestions as to wat u might want to see.. just tell me. I can't read minds ya kno!! lol anyways, read on.

**Synette-Da-Killa – **ok lets fix your confuzzlement. The Kazekage is the kage of the Wind country. or... Sand village. SAME THING!!! lol anyways, i don't know if that was the answer you wanted but heres another answer! The person who IS the Kazekage in my story is Kankuro, Gaara's older brother. Good? Ok read on!  
  
Chapter 3 – What the hell?  
  
"Temari, call for Gaara. I need a word with you both." said Kankuro as he walked into a meeting room down the hall from his office, his robes slapping furiously behind him.  
  
"Hai!". She swiftly glided out of the room, in search of her younger brother. Kankuro sat down in a chair at the end of a long table and awaited his siblings return.  
  
Seven minutes later, Temari walked in with Gaara trailing behind her with a bored expression on his face. Temari sat in a chair on the left side of Kankuro while Gaara leaned on a wall with his arms crossed in front of his chest.  
  
"Ok. So she confirmed it, she is from the Hyuga bloodline, along with her sister. My spies have told me that Tazze isn't as advanced with the Byakugan traits as her sister is, so she will be of no use. I think it would be the best interest to us to dispose of Tazze. We can't have Maliko be thinking of escape while she is the mother to the Sand's heirs. And most certainly her hopes will be depleted if her sister is out of the picture." Kankuro leaned back in his chair and sighed. "To tell you the truth, I was quite shocked to hear she was actually part of the bloodline. It was a lucky break. If she would've just had stolen the eyes, her children would've been of little use. You thought good Temari."  
  
Kankuro turned to Gaara, and surveyed his bored expression before adding. "Gaara, please bring Maliko here. Temari would you please fetch Tazze from the cells in the mean time?" asked Kankuro, eager to get this all over with. He watched the two leave before getting up and heading over to a large cabinet in the corner of the room. He flipped through some files before finding what he was looking for. He looked at the papars that read:  
"Marriage Legalization Form"   
  
Back in the Kazekage's office, Maliko had regained her composure, and immediately started looking for a way of escape. She glanced around the room to see a large maroon drape covering a circular window. She scooched her back up the wall, so she could stand and ran over to the window to look out. She noticed, much to her disappointment, that the window was 2 stories above ground.  
  
'If I make this jump without chakra, i'll surely break something. Ugh, why does this have to be so troublesome. I guess it can't be helped, I need to do this for Tazze. As soon as i can get out of here and get these shackles off, the sooner I can come back and get her.' Maliko built up her courage for what she was about to do. She stepped back a few paces and stopped to hear footsteps coming nearer to the office door.  
  
'Shit!'   
  
She side stepped to the window and kicked as hard as she could to break the locked glass. Outside, Gaara had heard glass breaking. He ran the rest of the way to the office and kicked open the door to find a red and orange blur running towards a shattered window. He recovered from his shock to summon a sand wall to block her path.  
  
'What the fuck!', Maliko said to herself as she ran into the hard sand wall, unable to stop herself, nor soften the hit because of her hands shackled behind her back. She crumpled to the floor and curled herself into a ball, obviously in pain.  
  
"Ow my head. What the fuck was th-". Her whining was interrupted by a sharp kick to her stomach. She coughed and rolled onto her back, only to be straddled by none other than Gaara. And he didn't look happy at all.  
  
"What the fuck do you think you're doing?" he hissed through clenched teeth. 'Why is he getting so mad...He never seemed to care about either of us being here before..' she thought to herself between throbs of pain erupting from her bruised ribs.  
  
"Jumping out of the window.. obviously." She replied in a sarcastic tone. They both leered at each other until he got up to stand over her.  
  
"Kankuro wants to see you. I suggest you don't try anything funny in front of him, or it just might ruin my plans. And you won't want to get me any more angry. I already have a strong urge to kill you both for being so stubborn and foolish." seethed the red haired boy. He leant down to pick her up off the floor and pushed her to move.  
  
'_His _plans? .. Whats he talking about..' She wondered to herself, stumbling all the while from the occasionally shoves being dealt to her back. She neared the end of the hallway and he grabbed her by the back of her jacket at her neck, stopping her in her tracks, and pushing her into a room much like the one she was in, save now it had a large table in the middle of it. At the end of the room sat the Kazekage, bent over a pile of papers, and to the left of him sat a blonde woman along with Tazze in silence. Good, her sister didn't seem to look beat up at all.  
  
Kankuro broke the silence, "Let's be blunt. Maliko you will agree to the marriage by signing these papers. You will sign her-"  
  
"No I won't...." she said, cutting him off and planting a glare on her face.   
  
"You will, or I will kill you sister here slowly. If you do though, agree to sign without problems, we will kill her fast and painless. Either way, you will be married to me in the end. It will be in your best interest, and hers, to consent without further arguments." He said quickly, unperturbed by her interruption.  
  
Tazze glanced at her sisters defeated glare, over to the red haired man they called Gaara. 'Why does it seem like hes on edge. He didn't look so when he took me down to those cells..." the brunette wondered to herself. Gaara noticed her stare and narrowed his eyes to glare back at her grey eyes. Tazze leered back until turning her attention back to the discussion before her.  
  
Gaara started running yesterdays events through his head, after he finished glaring at the girl across the room.  
  
_The red haired boy stood in a meeting room with his partner in crime. Uchiha Itachi was discussing certain konoichi with the Head of the Akatsuki organization._ _  
  
"After being broken, they may prove to be a good investment to the Akatsuki. Gaara has informed me that the Kazekage intends to have them chased into his borders to have one for his wife. He wishes to have heirs with the Hyuga traits. If you allow Gaara and I to take them from the Kazekage, we could do so without arousing suspicion on the Akatsukis part.." The Uchiha prodigy proclaimed to a dark figure leaning against a wall behind a desk.  
  
The figure hesitated before speaking in a domineering tone._ _ "Although you may have not noticed, Uchiha. There are no females in this organization. And I doubt that there ever need be. Besides, i've looked into these two, and they are only branch members. Why not take a Main house member. At least that way, if you couldn't break them, you could at least kill them and take the eyes, without having that stupid seal getting in the way."  
  
__Itachi sighed, getting irritated with these questions. "True, they are branch members, but they come from ZetsumeiGakure and were never found by the Hyugas of Konoha. Therefore, they have no seal. Also, Maliko seems to carry the bloodline limit, while Tazze isn't very far behind."_ _  
  
The man took a few moments to think this thought over and finally stated. "You will bring those two here tomorrow. Do not harm the Kazekage or anyone else. At best, you may knock them unconscious. I don't want any Sand Anbu trailing you here and surely the Kazekage won't notify any other villages for help, since they already deceived Konoha. This is all on one condition though. The girls will be broken within a months time, and they are your responsibility, no one else's. Do I make myself clear.. Gaara? Itachi?"_ _Itachi and Gaara both nodded. _ _  
  
"Good. Then I will have Gaara retrieve them, and Itachi.. you will wait outside the village for him. You are a known Akatsuki member so that will just arouse havoc and since no one knows about Gaara's loyalty, it would be best if he took the girls."_ _  
  
"Hai."_  
  
A/N o... o my goodness!!!!! haha, so yes, theres probably gonna be some... action.. next chapter. I hope this was long and good enough for you people. Good enough to receive... REVIEWS!!!!!.... anyways, await my next chapter!!!! Owari Malitia 


	4. Whats Going On?

A/N yup, its just as i thought. I'm running out of energy to update every night. But don't worry, i won't give up on the story... not that u guys would worry.. sheesh.. ingrates. Hahaha jk. Anyways weee reviews! .... Whoa.. i just noticed that the last chapter was really fucked with in format... yikes. Sorry bout that guys. Guess i should check it more often.. i tried changing it. Hopefully it worked, you can go back and read it if u like... it might be a little bit easier to understand haha. Anyways g0!

Xkuroxshinobix: Muahahahh!!! maybe u'll just have to find out the pairings.. but its kinda obvious if u knew me lol.. Maliko is my own character and i'm sickly obsessed with Gaara... Tazze is a friends character and shes obsessed with itachi.. ahemm.. but besides that.. u'll have to wait and find out hahaha.

Read on!!

Chapter 4: Whats going on!!?

'I'll have to make this quick.. Itachi's probably getting impatient waiting out there.' Gaara thought to himself while overlooking Kankuro and Maliko arguing.

"Sign here Maliko."

"No", huffed Maliko, closing her eyes and putting nose in the air.

"Yes!" yelled Kankuro.

"Make me bastard!", she yelled back.

'Ugh, how childish.' thought Gaara, getting impatient with the bickering. Kankuro stood up in a rage and walked over to Maliko and curled a fist into her orange hair at the back of her head. She let out a small yelp and glared up into the face of a very angry Kazekage.

"You stupid bitch. You better learn to start obeying now, or you're life's going to be a living hell.", Kankuro hissed through clenched teeth. He let go of her hair, pushing her head while doing so.

Gaara looked to a shocked Tazze and then to a very depressed looking Maliko. 'Well, I guess now is as good a time as ever..', He reached back and took the cork out of his gourd, and let the sand slip out of the opening. Upon hearing the sand hit the floor, Kankuro's head snapped up.

"Gaara! What are you do-". He was deprived of the ability to speak when sand clutched around his body and jaw. His eyes grew wide with shock and fright. Temari quickly jumped up only to be engulfed in the sand too.

'Oh Kami! He's gone insane!' screamed a voice inside her head. She jumped on top of the table and ran towards her frightened looking sister. Frightened? No, that was a look of pure hatred. As soon as she got over beside her sister, Maliko ran towards Gaara, sidestepped, and aimed a kick to his head.

Gaara noticed this and quickly dodged, while grabbing her ankle and twisted. This caused Maliko to lose her balance and fall to the floor. Gaara jumped on top of her, while taking the sand away from his siblings and focusing it on Tazze.

Before Tazze could react, sand had circled he legs making her unable to move. She looked towards the Kazekage and the blonde woman to see that they had fallen unconscious. 'Well that eliminates one problem at hand'.

Back on the floor, Gaara back handed Maliko causing her head to jolt to the side as she winced in pain. "I told you not to do anything stupid. Try something again and i'll wring your neck." He growled. He picked himself up off of her, only to be tripped back down to the floor by a scowling Maliko. 'Why was he the one to deal with such stubborn women?'. He quickly gathered himself, got back up off the floor, and went over to Maliko, grabbing each one of her arms, he picked her up and slammed her back against the wall.

A crack was heard as the back of Maliko's head connected with the wall. The last thing she saw before blacked out was her sister struggling with the sand around her ankles.

Gaara let the unconscious girl fall to the ground before turning to Tazze. "Will you come quietly?" He asked, all the while keeping his eyes on hers.

She glanced to her sister and back to the obviously unstable red head in front of her.

'H-hai."

With that said, Gaara picked up Maliko and carried her bridal style out the door, while summoning the sand back to his gourd. He listened for the footsteps to assure him that Tazze was following. She was. Good.

While Kankuro had been discussing...well, arguing, the sky had turned dark, and the inhabitants of the village had gone inside their houses, making everything easier for Gaara to get out of there with no questions asked. He neared a dark patch, maybe the only patch of trees, while coming out of the village gates.

When he was about 6 paces away, a cloaked figure emerged from the shadows. Red eyes glinting in the moonlight.

"I assume everything went according to plan?"

A/N o0o0oo0o00o0o0o0o excitement.. that was a hard chapter. I always get up and walk away.. and then i gotta drag my sorry ass back here to finish. I'm so.. lazy! Anyways i hope that was good enough for a chapter.. i know i don't write a lot, but at least i post every night! No complaining.. expecially you Terri! ---(Tazze's creat0r). Anyways, remember to always review, or there just might be lecherous children on your trail.

Owari

Malitia


	5. ZetsumeiGakure

A/N.. Sorry that this chapter is later than the other ones usually are... but ur prly thinking.. o boo hoo malitia, its only been a few hours.. but AHH! I really want ppl to read my fic and i don't wanna mess it up so Gomen!! anyways, new chapter with Itachi!! and... ughghghg Gaara hottayy!! anyways, if u still haven't checked, on my profile, the homepage link, u can find pics of maliko on there.. and maybe tazze .. i'll put her up on my deviant art acc sometime when i'm not too damn lazy.. anyways, i'm blabbering. .. Read on!

Synette-Da-Killer – nonsense, that wasn't rudeness. That was wonderful, i'm glad ur enjoying my story.. yay!!! if you want anything added to this fic just ask and i shall accommodate since ur such a wonderful reviewer !

Chapter 5 – ZetsumeiGakure

Tazze glanced from Gaara to the cloaked figure. 'I'm confused. Did the situation just get worse?' The man that had just emerged looked towards her with those shocking eyes, making her stagger back. This man looked just as scary as Gaara.

"I'm thinking you might want to put this one out with your Sharingan.. We wouldn't want her memorizing the way to and from the Akatsuki hideout." said Gaara in a hushed voice.

'Akatsuki? Where have I heard that before?', Tazze was still for a moment before she remembered all too well.

_Two 9 year old girls sat giggling with each other in the rose garden behind the Zetsumeikage's tower. The day was sunny and warm, and seemed like nothing could ruin it for them. How wrong they were. _

_While the orange haired child threw silky black rose petals at her twin sister, a high pitched scream pierced the air. _

_ "Maliko? What was that?!" said the brunette, obvious fear traced in her words. Two more screams were heard and Tazze's eyes widened with fright. Both of the girls stood quickly to be knocked back down by three cloaked men. Flowing cloaks whipped furiously as the seemingly calm day turned instantly windy. Upon the cloaks, blood red clouds could be seen. _

_ "Orochimaru-sama, They are still but children. Would it be wise to take them now if their abilities aren't developed?" asked the man standing to the right of the girls. The twins just stared in shock and confusion at the three figures._

_ "Hai, you're right. It would be more of an advantage to wait and see what they become. Destroy the village. I want no one left alive but the Hyugas. And take extra care in seeing that the Zetsumeikage is annihilated." replied the man that apparently was Orochimaru. _

_ 'Annihilate the Zetsumeikage?' thought the two girls in unison. Tazze turned to her sister and whispered in a low voice so as the men would not overhear._

_ "Maliko, we have to find a way to warn mother that these people are after her. Do you have any ideas?" The orange haired girl stared into nothingness for a few seconds before replying._

_ "They said they want to keep us alive for something or other. Most likely they won't kill us. I could make a distraction while you go and warn mother. " The girl stared at her sister. Tazze saw the determination in her sister's face and decided that she was right. As long as they could warn the Zetsumeikage in time. _

_"Hai, just be careful."_

_"I will. Are you ready?" whispered Maliko._

_ "Yea.... Go!" Both girls jumped to their feet. The men obviously didn't think they were a threat for they didn't move an inch. They just started waiting to see what would happen next, expecting both girls to try and battle them. Maliko ran forth and right before she reached the man called Orochimaru she darted underneath his cloak and grabbed three kunai from his leg holsters._

_ Orochimaru, noticing what she was doing, focused chakra to his feet and jumped. But the damage was already done, she had the sharp objects. Not that they were worried. What could a child do with three kunai. She threw the kunai at the three men, causing them to turn their backs on Tazze._

_ While the attention was focused on her 9 year old sister, Tazze did hand seals and blended in with the shadows of the rose bushes. She crept along the shadows until she reached the building, in which she slipped into the archway and ran up the stairs. Upon reaching her mothers office door, she heard a large crash come from the inside. _

_ She quickly opened the door to find her mother, the Zetsumeikage of the Death village, lying on the floor struggling for air. Two kunais pierced her stomach and one was through her shoulder. Another man with the black and red cloak stood over her looking almost as bad. He was just about to deal the last blow when he heard a shout behind him._

_ "Byakugan!" yelled the little girl as she ran towards the man. She focused chakra to her hands and aimed for the mans heart. The Zetsumeikage noticed what her daughter was doing and quickly grabbed the two ankles that stood beside her hips, immobilizing the wounded man. The blow from Tazze hit dead on, and the man dropped almost instantly beside her dying mother. _

_ Tazze dropped to the floor and knelt beside the bloodied woman, starting to cry. The woman's face hardened. She turned to face her sorrowed daughter. _

_ "Tazze, listen to me." she coughed and recovered for her last words. "I want you and Maliko to run. Always keep moving. The village will be taken over completely by now, theres nothing left for you here. Always be on the lookout and never give up. You are my daughter, great things are expected. Tell Maliko I love her. Keep safe. I'll be watching..." .with that said, she coughed a bit more and blood streamed out of her mouth. She took one last breath and died with her beloved daughter by her side. _

_ As much as Tazze wished she could stay with her mother, she couldn't. She closed her mother's eyelids, kissed her forehead, and got up to go and retrieve her sister. She gathered herself, picked up her mothers favorite katanas, and ran back down the stairs and out the archway to find her orange haired sister struggling against a tall black haired man pinning her arms to the side. Orochimaru and the other man seemed to have went to take the village and left this one man to supervise the twins. _

_ Tazze once again blended in with the shadows and circled around the man to face his back. She unsheathed the swords and they made a scraping sound. The man quickly turned around to find a very angry 9 year old. Tazze lunged with both swords and aimed for the mans stomach. He quickly let go of Maliko and dodged the attack. Maliko ran to his left side while Tazze stayed on his right. Tazze again ran forward and when she was within three feet of the man, she threw one of the swords to Maliko. The sword was caught and immediately driven into the left side of the mans stomach, while Tazze's sword was delved into his right side. _

_ Both girls held the swords in place, letting the Zetsumeikage's katanas release its energy into the mans insides. These swords weren't the Zetsumeikage's for nothing. The katanas turned to a shiny jet black if held in blood for a time period of 10 seconds, after which it released black chakra into the victims wounds, causing their muscles and organs to constrict and collapse. The man was dead within 15 seconds._

_ Maliko turned to her sister and saw her face. She immediately knew her mother was dead. Tazze told her sister what her mother wanted her to. Maliko simply nodded and embraced her sister tightly. Things changed so quickly.  
_

"You girl, look into my eyes." Tazze snapped back to the present to look at the man called Itachi. "Mengekyuu Sharingan" he whispered. She watched as the tiny black swirls on his eyes twirled and connected with his pupil. All went black within a matter of seconds.

A/N In the show, and manga, Orochimaru was once part of the Akatsuki.. And the village was attacked 8 years ago, so i thoguth that was a good enough time span. So i added him, yay for me. This was a hard chapter, i try to give detail but i'm so horrible at it. I'm sorry for that. Anyways, i hoped this was a good enough chapter. I kno it was short once again, but its .. holy crap.. its 2 am .. i'm tired. Screw you terri, i'm going to bed.

Owari

Malitia


	6. To the Akatsuki!

Disclaimer – hey now, i don't own Naruto. What i do own are Maliko, and Terri owns Tazze. The village is also mine muahahhah. TAKE THEM ALL!!!!!

A/N.. HAHA you ingrates. Lol i kno it was short, you gotta understand how lazy i am!! lol, anyways to answer some of the questions.. Gaara is 18, Maliko and Tazze are 17, and Itachi would be.... 23? ya.. lets say 23 haha. Yup, so i figured since its a saturday, i'd write a longer chap.. it prly won't be too much longer, cus u kno.. you can't motivate the lazy kid with just reviews.. sometimes food bribes are in order... hha jk you CAN motivate me with reviews!! anyways, enough talk.. read on!!

Chapter 6 – To the Akatsuki!

Itachi watched as the now unconscious girl crumpled to the sandy ground. He bent down and imitating Gaara, picked up Tazze bridal style. How was it that the two girls were so light? Itachi turned to Gaara and said in a hushed voice.

"If we are to conserve chakra on our way, it will take about ten hours to get back. The effects of the genjutsu I put on Tazze should only last about 6 hours. Do you think we should just let them walk after they wake up?"

"Hn. Ya, at least if we're found they can run for it and we can kill whoever opposes us without having to look after dead weight. They can't really find their way if we're already 6 hours to the hideout anyways." replied Gaara in a less than caring manner. He shifted Maliko in his arms and began walking away from SunaGakure towards the seemingly endless void of sand. Itachi followed within a matter of seconds.

Within 3 hours of walking they reached a forest which told them they had made their way into the Fire Country. Half an hour into the forest, Maliko began to stir. Gaara took no notice and kept on walking. Before the orange haired girl opened her eyes, she noticed that she was moving, but wasn't walking. She also felt that her shackles had been cut in between, making her arms movable but the clamps still around her wrist. Gaara and done this to both of the girls to make them easier to carry, but still enabling them to use their chakra.

Maliko opened her greenish white eyes slightly to see the same man that had cracked her head against a wall now carrying her. Remembering back, she felt a throb at the back of her head. Without thinking about what she was doing, she pushed on Gaara's chest causing him to drop her, resulting in a sore ass on top of having a sore head.

Gaara looked at the girl with a look of slight bewilderment on his face. "What are you doing?" he asked.

"What were _you _doing?" retorted Maliko. She rubbed the back of her head and winced. Her orange hair was messy and matted with blood. Looking up at Gaara, she narrowed her eyes and glared, hoping to burn a hole through his skull. No such thing happened. Then she remembered her sister. She quickly looked around and saw another man that she hadn't seen before. He was carrying her unconscious twin.

She jumped up from her sitting position and ran towards the unfamiliar man while growling. She aimed a punch at his head but he merely sidestepped and dodged. She quickly turned around, and glanced at the ground to find something, anything, to beat that man with. She saw a large stick right by her feet so she swiftly picked it up and swung it back, ready to hit the man carrying Tazze.

Her arm swung forward only to be grabbed by a strong hand. She looked at the owner of the hand. Gaara was looking at her angrily, which only made her more pissed off. She clenched her other hand into a fist and aimed a hit for his face, but since she had no available chakra, her movements were slow and sluggish. He swiftly and easily grasped her fist in his other hand. She was now at a very large disadvantage.

But, she wasn't Tazze's twin sister for nothing. Without any notice what so ever, she dropped down to the ground in a childish manner. Gaara, who still had a strong hold on her wrist and hand, fell down on top of her.

'Why is it always me this happens to?' Gaara thought to himself while trying to pin the screaming and kicking girl beneath him.

"You stupid bastard! Let go! I'll kill you! Let GO!" she kneed him in the gut, barely hurting him, but making him all the more angry. He shifted around quickly with the speed of an excellent shinobi and pinned her legs down with his knees, and her arms above her head with one of his hands. He wound his newly freed hand around her throat and leaned his head down close to her face.

"Do you have a strong death wish?" he asked through clenched teeth. His eyes narrowed, and his anger was visibly shown on his features. She stopped struggling for a second to glare right back at him. She shot her face up, and tried to bite his own face. He jerked his head back just in time to dodge the bared teeth. He gripped her neck more tightly and leant back down to hiss in her ear.

"Try that again. I dare you."

His grip loosened and she found that she was too tired to move anymore. The back of her head throbbed painfully, and she was now gasping for the breath that she was denied a few seconds before. She knew she couldn't do anything more to inflict damage onto the red haired man, so she decided she'd give up for now.

She glanced up at the man holding her sister and saw that he was slightly smirking. Obviously he was amused with the events that had just happened before him. Her eyes then darted to her sister. She didn't have any marks on her and she appeared to be fine. Maliko's body relaxed with relief that her sister hadn't been hurt.

Gaara felt the girl's body beneath him become slack and he figured she had given up her little struggle. 'Finally!' He got up off her and brushed himself off. It was just his luck that they had to take the two most stubborn girls in the world.

Itachi, noticing that the little fight was over, started to walk again. There was no use hanging around when they could make better time if they kept moving. Maliko stayed on the ground, too tired to get up. Gaara reached out his hand to help her up, and reluctantly she took it. She stood beside him for a few seconds before collapsing back on the ground. She was completely worn out from the scuffle she had. Her eyes became heavy as sleep welcomed her. Gaara noticed the girls breath become even and he sighed, irritated.

"You could've just asked.." he said to the sleeping girl on the ground. He leant down on one knee and gathered her into his arms. 'Heh, she's actually quite good looking when she's not trying to bite your face off-'. Gaara quickly stopped his thought, wondering why he would think such a thing. Maybe it was because someone was actually unafraid to get in his face. He just shrugged and began to walk after the Uchiha.

Within four more hours of walking, Itachi stopped for a rest. He set down Tazze, and walked through the trees to a nearby stream to get a drink. Gaara laid down Maliko beside her sister and sauntered over to a tree, about 5 feet away from the girls and sat down, with his back resting against the base. He closed his eyes for a mock sleep, seeing as he couldn't really sleep because of Shukaku.

Tazze's genjutsu was finally starting to wear off and she fluttered awake. It took her a moment to grasp that she was on the floor in a forest. She looked up at the dark sky and noticed that it was cloudy. That meant no stars to navigate by. She turned her head to the side to see Maliko beside her. ' Damn, shes still unconscious. Awel, it can't be helped. I'll just have to come back for her seeing as I can't haul her around.' she thought to herself. She sat up and noticed that Gaara was 'sleeping' with his back against a tree.

Tazze quietly stood up and backed away from the clearing that they were settled in. Gaara stayed unmoving, not noticing that she was escaping. Thirty seconds after she had left the clearing, Itachi returned to notice that they were missing a person.

"Gaara!" he yelled. "Where is she?!"

Gaara's eyes shot open at once and he looked around. He glanced over to where Maliko was just awakening from the noise. Tazze was gone. 'Shit, how could I not notice'. He jumped to his feet and was about to run in the direction the smaller footprints led.

"No Gaara. Stay here with that one. I'll find her." With that said, he darted out of the forest after Tazze. Gaara watched Itachi be enveloped in darkness until he heard shuffling behind him. He turned around quickly to find Maliko the cause of the noise.

Maliko, having figured out what just happened, thought to go and find her sister before Itachi did. She got up and started running towards the trees until familiar sand bars surrounded her. Growling and getting irritated by the constant obstacles, she spun around to come face to face with Gaara. He stood on the outside of the bars leering at her with his sleep deprived eyes.

"You two are proving more and more bothersome every minute. Can't you just accept whats happening and give the fuck up?"

"You have no right to complain! We don't know whats going on, and obviously its not something good if we're being held against our will!", she screamed back at him losing her temper more and more every second.

"You want to know what's happening? We're taking you two to the Akatsuki where you will be broken and used for our purposes. What are you going to do about it? Kick and scream like a child again?" He turned his back on her to walk towards a nearby tree. It was all getting too troublesome for him. He was used to people just keeping their mouth shut around him.

'That arrogant bastard!' she bent down, scooped up a rock the size of a small ball, and threw as hard as she could. The rock connected with his shoulder, but it did not faze him. He just turned and smirked while she glared at him with intense hatred.

'Just as I thought.. What a child'

In the trees, Itachi followed the small footprints, hoping to find the girl quick. They were wasting too much time here. They only had a month to make these two obey, and it was turning out to be more fruitless as time went on. They just seemed to be getting more and more disobedient and rash. The Uchiha wasn't too worried about finding the girl though. He knew that she was low on strength, and she could only travel on the ground because of her lack of chakra. Footprints were easy enough to follow.

And they just kept getting easier. He noticed that the farther he went, the footprints were set in shorter distances from each other, which meant that she was getting tired and would probably stop soon. The only bad thing about her being low on chakra was that she was harder to sense.

All at once, the footprints ceased. Itachi stopped and looked around. He saw nothing but the tall trees and the shadows that fell behind them. It was getting rather bothersome to stand here just listening, but he knew it was his only way to find her. So he did the only thing he could do. He stood... and listened.

After listening for about 20 seconds, he heard a scuffling behind a tree to his right. He smirked and casually walked around the large tree. And there she was, just sitting there. As he made his way in front of her, her eyes snapped up from the ground they were just looking at, and rested on his face. She quickly remembered what happened last time that she looked into his eyes, so she darted her eyes back to the ground.

"Are you done your little escapade? Because you know, you're really wasting my time by running around without a clue in your head." he said with a hint of amusement in his voice. There was nothing she could do. She was completely spent from her run and didn't have the energy to fight with him right now.

Tazze lifted her hand, signaling for him to take it and help her up. He merely looked at it, turned, and started walking back the way he came.

"Come Tazze." he ordered nonchalantly.

'What arrogance. If he wants to be like that, then screw him' She leaned back against the tree and crossed her arms. Itachi noticed she wasn't following and turned around to see her sulking.

'Ugh, i've never had such disobedience.' He walked back over to her and knelt down. She remained staring at the ground, oblivious to him gazing at her. He reached over to her and tipped her chin up to look at him.

"You best follow me. You'll just get lost and die out here. Then you won't be of any use to me." Itachi said this while speaking softly to her.

'Was that supposed to sound heartfelt?' she wondered, quite confused.

Itachi stood back up and reached his hand out to her. She looked at it for a few seconds before taking it. She wondered why he was being nice (kind of) to her, after she tried escaping. 'Maybe hes planning on beating me later...' He helped her up and held onto her arm so as she wouldn't fall. He didn't feel like wasting anymore time here.

They walked for about 4 minutes until reaching the clearing, only to find Maliko glaring at Gaara from inside a cage made of sand. Gaara seemed oblivious to this though, or maybe he just didn't care. He merely looked over to Itachi and Tazze and nodded. He got up from his sitting position and walked over to him.

"Are you ready to go then?" he asked Itachi.

"Hai. Was that one giving you troubles again?"

"Barely. I'll just have to keep an extra eye on her, thats all." replied Gaara. He walked over to Maliko and called back the sand. Maliko walked past him, hitting his shoulder with hers on the way. Gaara just smirked and turned to start walking again. Maliko made her way over to where Itachi and Tazze stood and took her sisters arm from the man.

"I'll take her now." she hissed at Itachi. He shrugged and let them walk in front of him. Within a couple more hours they would be at the hideout, and breaking would commence.

A/N and again, i finish in the middle of the night. 'sigh' awel. I'm just glad people are reading my story. You better review... or else... well i guess you'll just have to see what the lecherous children will do to you .. muahahaha RARARA!!! voodo0o0o. Ugh, i'm sleep deprived. Anyways remember to review an love. Love and love.

Owari

malitia


	7. At the Akatsuki

A/N lol i told u i would run out of energy for this.. but never fear!! i'm still here!!! and i still suck at rhyming haha. Anyways, this chapter... was realllllly hard to think of.. cus as u may not know, this is all just coming up at the top of my head. Its.. kinda harder that way. so.. if u got any good plot thinger, email it to me lol. Read on!!

Chapter 7 – At the Akatsuki..

Itachi thought the next couple of hours went by pretty fast. There had been a lot of bickering between Gaara and Maliko. He didn't know who was more stubborn, but he was guessing it was the girl. Even though Gaara had been unstable when he was young, he had grown into getting criticized and being yelled at after being with the Akatsuki for a year. He no longer killed whomever he pleased now, and he usually just brushed off the yelling and criticisms. Until now. Something about Maliko just set Gaara off. Maybe it was her constant rock throwing, or nagging. Maybe it was her whining. What was she trying to prove anyways? Itachi didn't think people could be killed by harsh words, but now he wasn't so sure. Maliko seemed to be trying pretty hard to achieve verbal murder.

On the other hand though, her sister was on good behavior. Itachi figured she would be a pushover when it came to getting the two girls to obey. Maybe he would pawn off the psycho sister on Gaara, just to be an asshole.

After Maliko threw what could've been the 55th stone, Tazze intervened. "Maliko, please. You're only going to make them more angry, and possibly more harsh when we get to their little hideout. And if they beat you to a pulp while we're there, its only going to be harder for us to escape later on." she whispered to her sister.

"But Tazze! He started it!" she said pointing to Gaara's back.

"I don't care who started it. If you get yourself killed over rock throwing, i'm only going to laugh at your stupidity."

Maliko smirked at her sister "You cut me real deep just now. Heh, okay, i'll stop, but only because you said." Having that said, Tazze could breath more easy. Her sister was always so stubborn when it came to the little disputes, but she always thought well in the long run.

Itachi turned to Gaara and said in a hushed voice. "We're about 8 minutes away. Those two need to be quiet from now on. They'll only give away the location." Gaara nodded understanding the importance of this. If they were overheard, Anbu from somewhere or other would find out that the Akatsuki hideout was nearby.

"Tazze, what should we do about Mother's items that were left back in Kono-"

"Quiet Maliko. No more talking until I say so." said Itachi turning to her and speaking in a hushed voice.

"Umm.. you know. You could have said please anywhere in that sentence. Why should I listen to you if you're going to be rude about it." she retorted, being louder than before.

'Ugh, I should have known this would have happened. I'm not used to dealing with children, much less teenagers who act like children.' He thought to himself. "Alright fine, will you _please_ be quiet until I say." he asked as nicely as he could.

"....No..."

'I'm gonna kill her!' He turned around and swiftly walked over to Maliko. Grabbing her by the throat he hissed in her ear. "Listen to me now, or your sister will be grieving in a matter of seconds." How was it that she could pry at everyone's nerves? Her eyes narrowed as she brought herself to leer at him. He glared back into her greenish-white eyes and gave a reassuring squeeze at her throat. She gasped at her lack of air. Itachi felt a hand grip onto his arm that was holding Maliko.

"Please, don't hurt her. She'll listen. Please.. just let go of her." Tazze pleaded with Itachi, obvious worry etched on her face.

"She better stay quiet, or i'll take extra care in snapping her neck." With that said, his grip loosened on Maliko's neck and he gave her a shove. He turned around to walk in the front of the party again.

"Are you okay Maliko?" Tazze whispered to her sister. Maliko rubbed at her neck and nodded.

"Keep moving." Gaara's deep voice came from behind them and they both felt a shove against their back. They started walking and soon enough, they reached a three story building.

Itachi reached the large archway that led into the building and turned around to face the three behind him. "Gaara, go and tell them we've arrived. I'll take Maliko and Tazze upstairs. I'll put Maliko in your holdings, and Tazze in mine so that they can't plan an escape with eachother."

"Can't we switch? I can't sleep but I do need my rest. She'll keep me running for my life all night and day." replied Gaara. No one could tell if he was serious or if he was being sarcastic. He was probably being serious though, because who ever knew Gaara to be sarcastic.

Itachi took both girls by their arms and started leading them up a wide staircase while Gaara went down a hallway towards a large door. They reached the third floor to find burgundy walls and black carpet. Two doors were located on this floor, and Itachi took little time in opening the first one. He gave Tazze a little shove into the room, and before she could begin to protest, he closed the door and locked it.

Maliko, having never really stayed anywhere separate from her sister, had started to panic. She struggled furiously, kicking and screaming, anything to get her back to her twin who was currently banging on the door from within. Maliko swung her free arm hoping to connect with Itachi's head, but Itachi swiftly grabbed her arm and tripped her down to the ground. He pinned her shoulders down and began speaking to her in a eerily calm voice.

"Stop fighting. It's only temporary, but we can make it permanent." with his threat known, he made a fist in her hair at the back of her hair and forced her back to her feet. Restraining her hands behind her back with his other hand, he pushed her towards the last door. Itachi pushed Maliko up against the wall beside the door and took his hand away from her hair to unlock the door. He pushed open the door and proceeded to lead her into the room.

Maliko looked around to notice that the whole thing was just one room save the washroom.

"Gaara will be here in a few minutes. Wait patiently and try not to break anything. We won't begin anything till tomorrow morning so get rested tonight. I doubt you'll get the chance tomorrow." with that said, he went back through the door whence he came, locking it on his way out.

Maliko sat down on a beaten up looking couch and decided to rest a bit while she could. 'This is going to be a long night'

A/N ok i know this is extremely short and all, but... i'm just so tired, and i'm not feeling good. Don't blame the fat kid. Anyways, i really wanted to post something tonite, seeing as i never posted yesterday, so here it is. Review and goodnite

owari

malitia


	8. Give us our Weapons!

Chapter 8

Disclaimer... Why would I, at such a young age .. own Naruto.. paleese.. i don't own Naruto, only Maliko and Terri owns Tazze. The Hidden Death is also mine.. possibly this computer and drawing book is mine also..

A/n Cmon guys, one review for the last chap. I'm getting discouraged.... hence, the late updates. I love reviews , even if its only one worded Cmoo0o0o0n. Anyways, i was hoping someone would give me suggestions for the plot. But what can u do. If u still want to give me suggestions.. just.. EMAIL ME!!!! my email is in my profile so check it, i'd gladly take suggestions.. anyways read on!

Chapter 8 – Give us our weapons!!

The sound of a slamming door had awaken Maliko. Groggily, she opened her eyes to find that it was 11:30. She glanced over in the direction of the door. Gaara had just arrived and was now staring at her with a confused look on his face. As she stretched, Maliko's back arched slightly.

"You slept that long?" he asked while still staring at her. He was not amused by her attitude. She rolled onto her back and sighed, trying hard to fight back the yawn that was coming. Rubbing her eyes, she sat up slowly.

"Well we did get here rather late. And having no strength might make you need more rest... "she replied, rather annoyed. "Where did you sleep?" She retorted. She looked around the room and noticed that the only piece of furniture that one could possibly sleep on was the ratty couch that she currently occupied. The first thought that came to mind was none too comforting. Maliko narrowed her eyes at Gaara in a suspicious look.

Crossing his arms, Gaara rolled his eyes. "Ya right, like I would sleep next to someone who would chew my face off the first chance they got. I don't sleep, so settle down."

"You don't sleep? .. Why not-" she began to ask. She dragged herself to sit on the edge of the couch.

"Never mind." He snapped, cutting off her previous question. "Now get up. Itachi and your better half are downstairs already." Gaara started walking towards the door. Before he could react, Maliko bounced past him and was already going down the stairs.

Apparently, upon hearing the mention of her sister, she snapped to attention and took off to the courtyard. Problem was, she had no clue as to where the courtyard was. Walking down a hallway, she glanced around for Gaara. She wanted to see her sister as soon as possible, but her eagerness may have gotten the better of her, seeing as she was now lost.

While glancing around, she didn't even take notice to the figure approaching her. She bumped into a large man with a shark-like face. Taking a few steps back, she was able to take a better look at him. He was also wearing one of those blasted black coats with the red and white clouds. 'What the hell?' she looked up at him with a disgusted face before turning to run the other way. Immediately, a light bluish hand stopped her, and grabbed her bicep. Maliko twisted around to glare at the man.

"Where's your master? You aren't supposed to be walking around these halls unaccompanied."

"My master? What?! I don't have a master!" She shouted. 'Whats with all these freaks. I just wanna find my sister so we can get the hell out of here.'

"Gaara and Itachi are your masters. You should be in Gaara's care right now. Where is he?" He narrowed his eyes at her, suspicious of why she was alone. She only glared back. Not long after, Gaara came skidding around a corner. He looked as though he had just run a mile. He visibly sighed and walked over to Maliko and her captor. Obviously, he was getting tired of Maliko's impulsiveness and defiance. His emerald eyes remained on Maliko the entire time. His brows were furrowed from anger. Maliko took no notice, as she was still trying to stare down the shark man.

"Why did you bolt like that? You're lucky someone else didn't find you or you'd be dead by now." He turned from Maliko to look at the shark-like man. He had to look away, he knew that he would snap any moment, if he conitinued to look at her. "Kisame, I'll take her now. Thanks for holding her for me." The man named Kisame only nodded and walked in the direction that Gaara had just came from. Maliko watched as Kisame turned the corner. She hoped to never see that man again.

"Ano sa... Who was that man... and ... why does he look like a shark?" She tried to hold back the laugh, but was only able to for a few more seconds. Turning to face Gaara, she noticed the look of disdain on his face. She snickered outwardly, which Gaara obviously didn't agree with. His face quickly turned from angry, to furious. She just wondered why Gaara never found Kisame's appearance as humorous as she did. He always looked like he was annoyed.

"Listen. You aren't to go anywhere without Itachi or me. The people here aren't as composed as Kisame and they would gladly kill you or torture you just for the fun of it. You got it?" snapped Gaara. Maliko stopped snickering, trying to appear serious. However, her attempt was to no avail. A small smile came to her face, then a second later she frantically burst out.

"How can you tell if he's composed. Do his gills flap if he's angry?!" She dropped to the ground clutching her ribs. She never knew she could have so much fun at this place. The laughter was beginning to hurt, as she rolled from side to side. 'Ahhhh! That guy was too funny looking. I'll have to point him out to Tazze before we leave.' Maliko thought to herself.

Growling, Gaara bent down and grabbed the neck of her shirt, hauling her back to her feet. "If you talk like that here, you're only asking for trouble. Now Itachi is waiting, let's go." He grabbed her wrist and started leading her down the hallway. They reached an archway that led outside, and immediately Maliko caught sight of her sister. Gaara let go of her wrist and she bounced over to Tazze.

Tazze, who had been waiting for about an hour for her sister to arrive, was sitting on the ground munching on a rice ball that Itachi had made as lunch for her. Apparently Itachi didn't want to start whatever it was he wanted to do until Gaara arrived with Maliko. Rather, he had just started training, not more than 9 feet away from her. She took small bites of her food, as she always did. At times her slow eating annoyed Maliko. She sat with her with her legs together, and her feet tucked just beside, like she was sitting with a skirt or dress. She was somewhat more lady-like than her sister, Maliko.

Maliko plopped down beside her sister and whispered to her. "Tazze, are you alright? He didn't try anything last night did he? 'Cause if he did, I'll kill him for you..."

She turned her attention from Itachi over to Maliko. Tazze only laughed and replied to her eager sister. "My, aren't you excited to kill him or what? No, he was actually really nice last night. It kinda made me wonder why he was so harsh before we got here."

And it was true. When Itachi had gotten back from Gaara's room he had asked her if she was hungry, and made her some miso ramen. Then afterwards he had made her a bed on his velvet maroon couch (it was nice compared to Gaara's couch) and then left to some sort of meeting. He had returned two hours later, but was quiet upon entering the room, so as not to awaken her. When she had finally woken up at 10:30, he had already had rice balls made and he led her down to the courtyard where she now sat.

"Are you sure Tazze? 'Cause... I can still kill him for you... "said Maliko, smirking to her sister. Tazze cocked an eyebrow, and shook her head. She giggled and playfully punched her sister in the arm.

"Hey, you two. Enough chat. We're going to spar, we want to see what you can do," said Itachi, while walking over to the girls. He knelt down in front of Tazze, and drew out a key from within his cloak pocket. Taking Tazze's hands in his, a soft click was heard as he unlocked the shackles and set them to the side. Gaara did the same to Maliko. He stood up beside Itachi.

Maliko and Tazze all the while sat confused as to why they would let them be able to gather chakra. Awel, it was fine with them seeing as this would only make it easier for them to escape. Maliko and Tazze exchanged glances.

"Girls, stand up. Maliko, I want you to spar with me, while Tazze spars with Gaara." stated Itachi, walking over to a clear patch of grass.

"W-we don't fight without our weapons..." stuttered Tazze, looking to the ground. Itachi only looked at her slightly confused before asking.

"What weapons? You had no weapons last night, and from what I hear, you didn't have any when Gaara found you either." He pointed out.

"That's because when we were driven out of Konoha, we had to leave so suddenly. We were unable to gather our things before Anbu started busting down our door." retorted Maliko, crossing her arms.

"You're pretty weak if you can't stand up to the Konoha Anbu. Besides, there's weapons here you can use." Itachi turned to walk back to the clearing, but stopped to hear Maliko yelling at him.

"Baka! They aren't just ordinary weapons. Our greatest abilities come from those weapons. They were the Zetsumeikage's and we aren't fighting without them!" She put on the most childish defiant face she could muster and continued to cross her arms across her chest. She sat with a straight back, and her legs crossed. Tazze leaned slightly forward, her hands planted on the ground in front of her.

"Please Itachi, if we could just go back to Konoha to grab them-"

"Absolutely not!" the strict voice of Itachi interrupted Tazze. She did not attempt to continue talking, like Maliko would have had done. "If we let you two go, then two of us have to go along with you. Plus you both are wanted in Konoha, and apparently you can't even defend yourselves against a few Anbu." he stopped to ponder on something. "Tazze will come with me to go and get them. With Maliko, it would probably turn into a week trip, and there would probably be a mass killing if Gaara went. Tazze, you have to promise to obey my orders if I am to take you to get your things. We'll leave in an hour. In the mean time, Maliko, I want you to train with Gaara. We'll probably be back by tomorrow morning." Gaara nodded and sat on the ground across from the girls.

"Maliko, tell Tazze what else you would like her to pick up. After that we're going back up to my quarters. I want to see your chakra control." stated Gaara leaning back to look up at the clouds. It was a fairly nice day out, but Gaara could tell it would be raining by evening.

"Ummm, you can grab my staff, and the cloaks Mother gave us, and....our head protectors." Maliko lowered her voice. She leaned towards Tazze, who lowered her head, to be level with Maliko's. Swiftly, she spoke to her sister. "Be careful. That Itachi guy is much stronger than you, so just go straight there, and straight back. After we have our weapons we might just stand a chance." Having that said, she hugged her sister tightly. Tazze hugged her back, reassuring her that everything would be fine. After a moment, she got up and ran after Itachi, who was currently walking out of the courtyard.

"Tazze, I'm going to drop you off in my quarters. Make us something to eat, so we can take it with us. I have to go inform to the council about our plans."

"Hai!"

A/N (Dodges random flailing objects) AHH i knows its another short chapter... but i was so discouraged with the amount of reviews i got for the last one. Anyways next chapters gonna be on the trip.. and the fun little adventures in Gaara's quarters o0oo0oo00!!! REVIEW!!!!!! ! )---------------

Owari

Malitia


	9. Itachi and Tazze

Chapter 9

A/n before you ask... its not my fault points to Terri... ya... someone had to take forever to think of something to happen and then not write it... haha. Eternal Annoyance (Terri) and I are now collaborating on this story... for she has no motivation and her computer sucks major mad bad, but I do have motivation, and my computer doesn't suck... but I suck at writing, and she doesn't... so we're putting our thoughts and motivational skills together...Yay! Anyways here's a shot, read on!

* * *

Chapter 9 – Itachi and Tazze

Itachi and Tazze made their way up to his quarters. After dropping her off, he went back downstairs to inform the council of his intentions. He wanted to let them know he was taking Tazze with him, just in case it did not sit well with the council. They allowed him to go, on the condition that Tazze would be safe and that no unwanted attention was attracted. Meanwhile, Tazze gathered rations, packing them in a small pack. She then sat on the couch to wait for Itachi's return. After a short while, he returned, and without even enlightening her on the situation, went straight into another room that Tazze had not been into.

Itachi walked back out carrying a cloak that looked exactly like his. Tossing her the red and black bundle, he said, "Put this on."

Tazze eyed the cloak, a look of bitterness on her face. She looked back up to Itachi who stood watching her. Her fingers fidgeted slightly with the cloth.

"Umm...can't I just wear what I'm wearing now?" she quietly asked, as she lowered her head, obviously saddened. Itachi continued staring at her, and gave her a quick look over.

Finally, he asked. "Why don't you want to wear the cloak?"

Her head remained lowered and she answered him quietly. "I don't want to wear the same clothing that the men wore when they wiped out my village..."

Itachi quirked his eyebrow and sighed. Looking out the window, he replied. "Alright, but we'll take it along in case you need it. It looks like it might rain in a bit." He looked back towards Tazze to find her now staring back at him. He was quiet for a while, and finally asked, "What is it?" He was somewhat confused.

She quickly snapped back to attention. "Uh...nothing!" Quickly, she stood up and started gathering the cloak into the same pack the food was in. She hurried over to the door. Turning to Itachi once again, she smiled. "Shall we go then?"

"....Hai."

* * *

The Akatsuki Hideout was located just inside the borders of Fire Country. It would take them about nine hours to reach Konoha, and that's just how long Itachi wanted to take to get there. However, such time could not be made possible for after an hour of walking, rain started pouring down.

"It seems we won't be able to make it there in good time. We'll probably be held back another two or three hours now." He looked back at the quiet girl behind him. He stopped, hoping that Tazze would get the hint and start walking again. "There's no use in stopping to wait for the rain to let up. It will only waste more time seeing as it doesn't look like the rain will stop anytime soon."

She nodded. Unbeknownst to Itachi, she only stopped so she could try to braid her long brown hair. She never did like the rain, because her hair became tangled easily when it was wet. If she were sensible she would have cut it a long time ago like Maliko had done. However, she just could not seem to part with the hair, since her mother had wanted her to keep her hair long. She smiled at the thought of her mother and continued walking through the muddy and wet forest.

Within half an hour she was completely soaked, and her pants were covered in mud. Itachi was right, the rain did not show any sign of letting up soon. Although she was looking more like a wet dog than a glamorous girl, Itachi still seemed to be unaffected by the rains gloomy mood. He held his head high and carried himself about rather gracefully. He did not have a speck of mud anywhere on his black and red cloak, and although he was as wet as she was. He still looked as handsome as he always was.

Tazze stared at Itachi rather jealous of his composure. 'Why is it that he's able to miss every puddle, while I seem to hit them all? Geez, he even looks good in the ugliest situation -.' She stopped herself in mid-thought to think over what she had just thought. Did she really think Itachi was good looking?

Itachi glanced back at her to see her staring at him in the same manner as she had before they left the hideout. "What is it now?" he asked still confused at the expression on her face.

She appeared to snap out of a daze and quickly turned her head up to the sky. Rain pattered onto her already wet face and she muttered. "Its nothing".

Itachi merely shrugged his shoulders and turned to look at the path before him. "You know...you're going to get sick if you keep walking in this weather wearing only that." He gestured to her now soaking wet black capri pants. Her long-sleeved shirt appeared thin, and her blue shawl was also soaking. "Why don't you put on the cloak now?"

"No thank-you. I'll be alright." She gave him a reassuring smile and turned her attention back to the path.

'Why are they so stubborn in everything they do...' Itachi thought to himself.

* * *

It took them eleven and half-hour to reach the Konoha gates. Itachi turned to inform Tazze of what was to happen.

"When I talked to the council, they told me not to do anything rash. So we aren't allowed to kill anyone, and basically you are to stay out of sight. Konoha has only just let off trying to find the Akatsuki, and the council thinks that if we cause a big commotion they'll just come right back to search for us." Itachi stopped to look at her. She was currently looking towards Konoha with a blank expression on her face. He continued. "So if the situation arises where we are seen and challenged. We will fight, but we will not kill. Do I make myself clear?"

She turned to look at his stern face, and nodded. The two made their way over to the gatekeeper. Before he even had the chance to question the two strangers, Itachi put a genjutsu on the man. The gatekeeper fell to the ground, knocked unconscious.

Tazze looked at the man sleeping on the ground. 'He didn't even do any hand seals, nor say anything. How did he put the genjutsu on that man?' She tried to figure it out in her head, and turned to look up at Itachi. What she saw surprised her a little. The three dots that were usually still against his red eyes had just stopped from a frantic spin. Her mouth gaped open slightly, and her brows furrowed just a little bit. His skill and the fact that he looked rather attractive mesmerized her.

Itachi glanced back to Tazze, and the look on her face kept him still for only a second. She had no time to stare for he grabbed her hand and pulled her along with him through the gates. He ran swiftly through the streets towards the apartment that Tazze had told him about. She kept up with his pace, but just barely. It was not far from the front gates, and luckily for them, the inhabitants of the village were inside their homes due to the rain.

When they neared the building, Itachi stopped Tazze and motioned to the window on the second floor. She looked up to see two figures wearing white masks with strange markings talking to each other. Tazze looked to Itachi hoping for an explanation. He looked down to her and noticed the questioning look on her face. He offered the explanation she was looking for.

"Those are Anbu for investigation purposes. They are probably trying to find clues as to why you might've attacked the Hokage." whispered Itachi. Still holding her hand he turned to walk back towards the front gates. Tazze still looked up to the windows of her old home, but the small tug on her hand took her attention away. She simply went along with Itachi.

Tazze watched as her apartment disappeared behind a corner. She turned to question Itachi. "But what about our things? Where are we going?" She asked frantically in a whisper, obvious worry written in her voice.

"We'll go to the lodging town not far from here to rest and get out of the rain. It would be foolish to run in there while the Anbu are patrolling and investigating," he replied. She understood. Gripping his hand tighter she started at a run, wanting to get out of the rain sooner.

* * *

The two made it to the lodging town within half an hour and made their way to a large four-story building. Itachi led the way into the building, followed closely by Tazze. The clerk at the desk had a look of surprise on her face upon seeing Tazze and Itachi. Quickly she composed herself, and greeted them. Itachi turned to Tazze, who was shivering.

"This will only take a moment," he told her.

Tazze nodded in reply. While Itachi talked to the woman, Tazze rubbed her arms, trying to un-numb them. She glanced around the room, trying to look busy. The woman handed Itachi a key and he motioned for Tazze to follow him. She hurried after him, keeping stride alongside him. She looked at the numbers on the doors, wondering exactly where their room was. Itachi came to a stop, and Tazze stood next to him, as he unlocked the door.

Walking in the door of their room on the fourth floor, she spotted a bed and ran over to jump on it. She dropped onto her back and rested her head on the soft pillow. She closed her eyes hoping to sleep.

Itachi looked at her, he would have let her sleep, because he knew that she must be exhausted, but she was still wet. Before she could fall asleep, Itachi woke her up. She opened her eyes when she felt him take both of her hands his. Her eyes darted from their hands up to his face. He hauled her up and off of the bed, before she could figure out what was happening.

"You're soaking wet, and dirty. You'll only get the bed dirty. Plus, if you stay in those clothes you're going to get sick. Strip them off and take a hot shower. I'll go out and find you some dry clothes." Without giving her time to reply, he was already out the door. She merely stared at the door, that is until she remembered the mention of 'hot' and 'shower'. A huge cheesy smile lighted her face. She dropped the pack from her shoulder, and bounced over to the washroom. Locking the door behind her, she turned to find a towel. After gathering all the necessary things she needed, she stripped off her wet, muddy clothes, practically peeling them off of her skin. Stepping underneath the water, she quickly withdrew from it.

"AHH!! It burns!!" she screamed. Being the hasty girl that she was, she didn't even bother turning the cold knob at all. She fiddled with the hot tap first, before adjusting the cold water. She stepped back underneath the water, letting it pour over her, before deciding to scrub. After ten minutes of being in the soothing and refreshing shower, she heard the door slide open.

'Wow! Itachi sure didn't take long,' she thought to herself.

She hopped out of the shower and wrapped a white towel around herself. She figured Itachi would want a shower when he got back, so she opened the door and made her way out of the washroom. Looking around, she noticed that nobody was in the room. It was dark, and silent. Only the momentary flash of light shone through the window when the thunder sounded. She walked over to a door that connected hers and Itachi's room. Opening it, she peered inside. Still she didn't find Itachi.

'Awel. I'll just dry my hair then.' She trudged back over to the bathroom she had just come from. Before she could even reach the bathroom, an arm wrapped itself around her neck and another around her waste. Gasping, she started struggling, trying to free herself of the strong arms. A tall, brown haired man appeared in front of her from seemingly out of no where. He looked behind her to the man that was currently holding her thrashing body.

"Lee, keep her still and quiet. We don't need everyone to know we're here," said the dark haired man with a hushed voice. The arm around her neck then tightened. Closing her eyes, she stopped struggling for fear of suffocation. After she had stopped writhing, the man named Lee loosened his hold back to its normal grip.

She opened her eyes to see the man with the brown hair studying her. Tazze began to feel very uncomfortable, after having the fear of death pass by. Now she had to worry about the fact that she was only in a towel, with two strange men in her room. His almost white eyes made their way up to her face before stopping at her own. Relief flooded Tazze, now that she saw he was focusing on her face. His eyes widened and he seemed frozen in shock. He then looked to her forehead, then back to her eyes again, before yelling out.

"Why do you have the Byakugan?!" He surprised her with this question, and obviously surprised the man behind her for his grip loosened slightly. Although she could clearly see that he also had the Byakugan, she had broken her mother's first rule.

'Never let anyone from Konohagakure find out that either of you have the Byakugan trait.'

Although she was surprised herself, she used their sudden shock as her chance to escape. Taking action, she elbowed the man behind her in the stomach. His arms immediately dropped to clutch his stomach. Realizing the lack of clothing she had on, she grabbed at the top of her towel and ran towards the bedroom door that led to Itachi's room. She heard the man that she hadn't hurt running behind her obviously trying to catch her. Quickly, she glanced back at the man with the Byakugan.

As she reached the door, she collided with another person running towards her. Before she was able to fall backwards, strong hands grabbed onto her biceps and quickly pulled her into the bedroom that she was initially heading for. The hands let go of her so that they could close and lock the door. It was dark, so Tazze could not make out who it was that was helping her. She didn't need to anyway, she knew the hands belonged to Itachi. The nearby lamp was flicked on, and Itachi stood next to the bed stand. He looked somewhat out of breath.

"Are you alright?" He asked rather quickly. He looked her up and down, searching for signs of wounds.

"H-hai." Suddenly feeling insecure, she gripped the towel to herself just to assure herself that she was indeed covered.

"Who were they?" asked Itachi in a hushed voice. Obviously he didn't want the men outside to overhear so she whispered back to him.

"I don't know, but one has long brown hair, and the same eyes as me. The other I didn't see, but the other man called him Lee. Why did that man have the Byakugan?" she was rather confused as to why he had the same trait as she. The only person she had ever seen with the Byakugan was her sister. If he was indeed from Konoha, why had she never seen him before; well, then again, she and her sister pretty much kept to themselves.

"Ah, I see. They sent two Taijutsu specialists to pursue us. The man with the Byakugan is Hyuuga Neji. The Byakugan trait originates in Konoha. You and your sister are the only Hyuuga's to be outside of the Leaf." He pressed his ear to the door to find out if he could hear anybody behind the door. He could not, so he turned back to Tazze. "Activate your Byakugan and see if they're still out there. We'll have to leave soon before they're able to call for back up." Itachi was impressed with Konoha. Sending Taijutsu specialists was a smart move; it would be a somewhat tough task to fight them.

She quickly obliged and did the proper hand movements. She whispered "Byakugan!" and felt the chakra surge to her eyes. Tazze looked past the wall, scanning the room, being extra vigilant to look on the floor. There was no one.

"I don't' see them," she whispered back to Itachi. He nodded and grabbed her hand. Opening the door, he made his way back into Tazze's room, heading towards the door leading to the hall. Tazze stopped abruptly, before he made it to the other door.

"I don't have any clothes on," she said rather bluntly. Itachi wasn't able to get her clothes because he had to turn around after sensing the Anbu's presence. He looked around the room for a solution, but something else caught his eyes. He shot his gaze up to the ceiling. His gaze traveled down as the two Anbu members dropped to floor. Tazze was rather surprised to even see them in her room; she was positive that she saw nobody in here. Itachi noticed Tazze's pack on the floor, where she set it down and quickly whipped out the Akatsuki cloak that he had made Tazze bring along. Tazze was quite fearful; she was in no condition to fight, especially with only being covered by a towel. He opened the cloak and as Tazze backed into him, after trying to create distance between herself and the Anbu, he hastily wrapped the cloak around her. A look of surprise came to her face as Itachi whipped the cloak around her small frame. Quickly, he hauled her over his shoulder.

Itachi kicked open the door and ran out into the hall. He ran down the hallway, and heard Neji and Lee running behind him. Tazze watched as Lee and Neji ever so slightly closed the distance between them. Turning sharply, he kicked another door open, which led to another of the inn's room. It was empty.

He made his way over to a window at the end of the room. Halfway there he picked up an ornament from an end table and threw it at the window. Immediately after the window's glass had shattered, Itachi jumped out with Tazze rigid over his shoulder. Once Tazze heard the shatter of glass, worry swarmed over her. Next thing she knew, she was falling away from the room.

If she would have jumped out of the window, she would not have had been able to prepare herself for the four-story drop. But Itachi was an S-Class criminal, and he had experience with this type of thing. Focusing chakra to his feet, he momentarily repelled their bodies from the ground before letting himself drop roughly, yet somewhat softly to the muddy street.

Gathering his wits, he quickly jolted out of the lodging town back towards Konohagakure. He knew he hadn't lost the Anbu so he wanted to be as fast as he could in gathering the stuff. He gathered chakra to his feet again, and pushed himself faster. Tazze stirred on his shoulder and stuttered.

"I-Itachi, I can run."

"You have no shoes on. I can carry you to Konoha. Just hold on, we'll be there in a while." He felt her body relax against his shoulder and he continued on with his fast paced run.

* * *

When they reached her old apartment in Konoha, they were met with an empty building. There were no lights on in the apartment room. Luckily for them, the investigating Anbu had gone home after dark. After opening the door for her, he set her down on the wood floor, and turned away as she fastened the cloak that he had hastily wrapped around her. She quickly went through the rooms gathering things. Itachi turned, and realized he was in their living room. He stood there for a moment but then walked towards a stand that was near him. There were many pictures on the table. The frame nearest to the wall was different from the rest. Two small children stood next to their mother. Itachi figured this was Tazze and Maliko when they were younger.

Tazze grabbed a pair of shoes, grabbed a bag off the floor and stuffed it full of clothes, and went about searching for the weapons. She found them in their old sleeping rooms. She came out of Maliko's old room first and without a word or a glance to the man waiting patiently for her, she tossed a gray staff with 5 black rings to him.

He caught it effortlessly and looked to see her disappear into her old room. She came running out after 2 minutes with two arm-length, black hilted katanas attached to her back. The black leather and silver wirings that covered the katanas blades shone in the moonlight that came from the window. Within ten minutes they had come and gone.

* * *

Itachi didn't think it safe to find another inn to stay in so he found a large tree an hour from Konoha to settle in. The roots erupted from the ground and left a space large enough for two people to settle under. The large roots of the tree made enough shelter from the rain as it hovered over their heads. Itachi had to duck down a bit as he entered the little shelter, and Tazze followed.

Itachi sat with his back leaning against the roots that made the sides of their shelter. He turned to see Tazze ripping through the bag she had packed. She had found what she was looking for as she pulled out a black cloak with a gray death kanji interlaced with a strange symbol on the back of it. As she took her headband from the bag he saw the strange symbol for what it really was. The symbol that looked like a short handled scythe was the official marking of Zetsumeigakure.

She stood up, her head almost reaching the top of their shelter, and turned to Itachi. She smiled to him and spoke softly.

"I'd like to go change. Is that alright Itachi-kun?" Apparently she was grateful that he helped her get her and her sister's heirlooms back. 'She's cute when she smiles.' He simply nodded half smirking, and she bounced out of the shelter to settle into a smaller one not far off, to change.

Six minutes later, she came back wearing the black cloak she had taken from her bag. It hugged her body perfectly, showing off her curves and slimness. Somehow the cloak covered her feet but didn't touch the ground. It was like it was made especially for her. A glint of metal brought his gaze back up to her delicate jawline to see that she now wore her headband around her neck. She simply looked radiant in his eyes.

She smiled brightly to him, placing her hands on her hips. "Itachi-kun. If you keep staring at my neck like that you'll burn a hole right through." Itachi merely smirked and responded back.

"You better sleep now. We'll leave in four hours. I'll keep watch," he now looked into her almost white eyes to see that her smile had faded. "What is it?"

"Y-you need your rest too. I can keep watch," she responded, stuttering slightly. Her gaze fell to the ground and she looked like a child that had just been punished. She did not want him to sacrifice rest for her, with her sister it was different.

Itachi quirked an eyebrow at her. "It's okay, I'm used to it. It's only four hours anyways. You sleep now and as soon as we get back to the hideout I'll take a rest. How's that?" Her head raised a bit to look at him. She gave him one of her adorable smiles and settled down to the right of him.

"Alright Itachi-kun," she set her pack against the wall that Itachi was leaning on. She moved the Akatsuki cloak that she had worn before to the wall on the right of her. She laid her head on the pack and turned her body to face Itachi. She snuggled her head onto the pack, trying to find a comfy spot.

"Good night Itachi-kun," she said barely above a whisper.

"Hn," he replied. She knew he meant the same. He watched as she closed her eyes and within minutes her breathing steadied as she fell asleep. He reached over Tazze's sleeping form to take the Akatsuki cloak she had worn, into his hands. Unfolding it he placed it over her small frame to protect her from the cold. In four hours, they would leave for the hideout.

* * *

A/N Whoa.. that has to be the longest thing i've ever written in my life... welp thats wat i get for leaving it for 2 week eh? Ahah anyways sorry about the no gaara and Maliko thing.... its so hard for me to write in two different places.. and this was long enough already. Sorry for the late update. Next chap will be about Maliko and Gaara and wat they did while Itachi and Tazze were gone.. YAY REVIEWOWOWOWOSS!!! I don't even know whats going to happen with the next chapyet, but lets hope its good. I've already started so i'll try to get it out as s00n as possible. AGAIN I'M SORRY FOR the LATE UPDATE!!!!! points to terri

Owari

Malitia and Eternal Annoyance


	10. Gaara and Maliko

An Bam Chapter 10, i started it early so i wouldn't be dragged down... ahem... terri.. ahem.. lol anyways cha nini read read read on!

Collaboration with ETERNAL ANNOYANCE

Disclaimer: pah, if i owned naruto... it would suck a lot... remember that...

* * *

Chapter 10 – Gaara and Maliko

As she watched her sister walk away, she felt somewhat empty. Never had her sister gone anywhere without her. And now, she was leaving with that Itachi man, and not even fighting to stay with her twin. Maliko swore that when her sister got back, she would kill the red eyed man and possibly Gaara too. She found it awfully funny to annoy him, even though he was always annoyed.

Still sitting down in the grass with Gaara next to her, she sighed. "This is gonna be one long day." she muttered. Gaara merely glanced at her and picked himself off the ground.

"Lets go, we're going to train in my quarters for the rest of the day."

"Hn, how 'bout we watch the clouds." She said while patting the ground beside her. She flumped back onto the grass and stretched out. Her hands cupped behind her head, and her red and orange hair fluffed forward a bit. The soft grass was instantly comfortable.

"How 'bout you stop being such a pain in the ass and start listening to me" Gaara hissed. He bent down and grabbed both of her hands in his. Hauling her off the grass, he started pulled her towards the archway that led out of the luscious courtyard.

He heard her groan and start cussing underneath her breath. "Stop muttering to yourself child" he mocked. Tugging on her hands to get her moving faster, he looked back at her. For some reason, she wasn't tugging back, and this utterly confused Gaara. He found the white-eyed girl to be in a trance of some sort; looking at her hands that were held in his large calloused ones.

Gaara chuckled, which caused Maliko to shoot her head up. She made to swat him in the head but found herself unable to for he held her hands good and tight.

"Hmph, you like holding my hand Gaara-_kun_?" jostled Maliko, trying to get a rise out of the red head in front of her.

"I'm sorry if I'm leading you on Maliko-_chan_, but I really didn't expect you to want me to do anything _more"_ he responded quite seriously. Maliko's eyes widened and she tried to tug her hands back.

'This guy is some kinda psycho!' she thought to herself. Unsure of what the man would do next she decided she wouldn't stay to find out. Realizing that the shackles hadn't been re-attached to her wrists she charged chakra to her palms. The sudden chakra release caused Gaara to yank his hands back, yelping a bit as he did so. Maliko knew she hadn't used much of a gentle fist to seriously hurt his hands, but used just enough to singe his tissue and veins.

Maliko bolted back to the courtyard, hearing Gaara behind her. She decided to lose him in the trees. The courtyard was quite vast and had a lot of trees to rid yourself of red headed pains. Jumping and running about five minutes into the trees, she stopped to hear voices. She recognized one to be that of the blue shark man from before. She knelt down on the branch. Concealing her chakra, she pushed some leaves aside to reveal Kisame and another man with very pale skin. He looked somewhat familiar to her but she couldn't quite figure out who he was.

Pushing the thoughts away she tried her hardest to eavesdrop on the two men. She was shocked to find out that they were in fact, talking about her.

"I saw the girl this morning, I couldn't sense much for her chakra cause of the shackles Gaara had put on her. But apparently, her abilities could rival that of Hyuuga Neji of Konoha. Her sister isn't as strong as her but she does surpass the Hyuuga heiress." said Kisame in a hushed voice.

'Do they think they're being sneaky. For Kami sake, they're whispering in a bush! How stereotypical,' she thought to herself. She tried listening more, but a hand was cupped over her mouth. She whipped around to find Gaara looking like he was about to yell at her. Maliko was not too worried about Gaara, her mind was too focused on finding out what else the two men were planning. Gaara opened his mouth only to have it shut again by her hand being placed over his mouth. Obviously if those men were talking in secrecy, and in between a vast amount of trees, Gaara didn't know about it and neither did his beloved council.

Gaara gave her a confused look before taking his hand away from her mouth. She did not remove hers though. She mouthed the word 'look' to him and pointed below to the two whispering men. She then removed her hand, to hold onto the branch.

The red headed man looked down and his face turned from confused to furious. Maliko edged away, sensing Gaara's instability at the moment.

"Orochimaru....." he hissed beneath his breath. Where had she heard that name before. She gasped and whipped her head to stare at the man talking to Kisame. A look of shock mixed with disdain plastered her face. She suddenly remembered:

_"Orochimaru-sama, They are still but children. Would it be wise to take them now if their abilities aren't developed?" _

_ "Hai hai, you're right. It would be more of an advantage to wait and see what they become. Destroy the village. I want no one left alive but the Hyuugas. And take extra care in seeing that the Zetsumeikage is annihilated," replied Orochimaru. _

The man that had ordered her mother killed and her village destroyed stood but a few metres from her. Gaara turned to see Maliko, readying to pounce. Fury and absolute hatred could be seen in her eyes. He grabbed her wrist before she was able to take flight and whispered to her.

"What are you doing?! Don't you dare try and jump in there. There will be no fighting here. I'll need to report this to the council--" he stopped to hear Orochimaru talking again. He hushed the tense girl beside him and motioned for her to listen.

"It was foolish of me to think that I could get a child so heavily protected in Konoha. Sasuke was a failed attempt. Only afterwards did I remember the two children I encountered while I was still with the organization." He chuckled. "I'm glad to hear they have turned out so promising. I shall take the more advanced girl as my next container. Though, I wish you would've sold out Itachi to me, Kisame. His eyes would have been wonderful to copy the nin-jutsus I need, but I must do with what I can get." He stopped to sigh. "Byakugan will do for now." Orochimaru smirked and did a few fast hand seals. He vanished in a cloud of smoke, leaving Kisame to ponder his doings.

Gaara shifted at the exact moment Orochimaru disappeared. Turning around, he put his arm around Maliko's waist.

"Come, we have to go tell the council about this." He said to her in a hushed voice. Gripping her waist, he jumped down off the tree. She seemed a bit shaken from what she had just witnessed. The man that had had her mother killed had been within killing distance, and she didn't make any attempt to do anything. When Gaara helped her off the tree branch, she didn't object nor say anything at all. She simply stared at the spot where the Legendary Sanin had just stood. She was not too sure what to think.

Gaara made his way back out of the courtyard with Maliko in tow beside him, still staring into nothingness. He sighed and kept going on his way. The two of them walked down the halls. They were now going down the hallway that she had seen Gaara go down when they had first arrived. Walking into a room she noticed a man sitting behind a desk. He had short spiky white hair and he also wore one of the black cloaks. Maliko simply stared at the man, but still had her mind on Orochimaru. She wasn't too focused on what was going on.

The white haired man glanced up from some work to see as the two had entered the room. His face held no emotion as he looked from Gaara to Maliko.

"What is it Gaara?" he asked, his voice steady with an air of authority about it.

"I'd like to speak with the whole council. I've just witnessed something that I think they should hear." The man's eyebrows lifted somewhat and he nodded his head. Getting out of his chair, he walked towards another door and disappeared behind it. He came out seconds later with three other men behind him. They all sat behind a large table and nodded for Gaara to start. Gaara took a moment to look at the men, wondering what he should say.

He thought for a second. 'Whats a way I can put this so it won't sound like she was running off...Ah!'

"Maliko was training in the courtyard and she heard some voices. She left to go see where they had come from. I noticed she had gone a while later, and found her at a far out patch in the courtyard. Kisame was making some sort of an agreement with the traitor, Orochimaru." with this name said, it seemed the council members started to listen more intently. Gaara continued. "I got there in the middle of the agreement, but I got the gist of Orochimaru's intentions. He plans to take Maliko as one of his containers, as he failed to capture the younger Uchiha." He halted in his explanation to allow the council members time to discuss the situation.

The one with the white hair looked to Maliko and asked. "What happened before Gaara got there, girl?" Maliko simply stared and remained silent. He asked again.

"What did you hear when you first arrived at the scene, girl?" he sounded more than a little annoyed with her quietness. He snapped to Gaara.

"Gaara, does the girl not know how to obey? I expected more. Make her speak or I will take it upon myself to do so." Getting fed up with the man's domineering tone, Gaara grabbed Maliko's armed and whispered in her ear.

"Tell him what you heard or I'm gonna take great pleasure in beating you within an inch of your life. That way Orochimaru will only have your sister to go after. Do you want that?" Getting his point across, he let go of her arm and said louder. "Tell him."

Maliko sighed. Of course, she didn't want her sister to be put in that kind of danger. Orochimaru had had a very strong aura about him, and she sensed that he was more than strong enough to take on anyone in his way. Feeling worse than before, she mumbled out. "They were talking about our abilities, and comparing us to two other people. I don't' know who they were." All the while, she kept her eyes on the ground before her.

"What were the names of these people he compared you to, girl?" The white haired man asked. She stayed silent. Gaara looked at her, and noticed that she seemed to go into her trance again. He nudged her arm and her face snapped up. She looked to the council and said.

"Hyuuga Neji, and the Hyuuga Heiress. I don't know what her name is though."

"How did he compare them to you?"

"H-he said my abilities rivaled Hyuuga Neji's and my sister's abilities were somewhat greater than the Hyuuga Heiress'," she stuttered in response. She noticed that the man now seemed to be smirking. She quickly looked to Gaara. He had an angry and somewhat determined expression on his face.

'What the hell?'

"Is this true Gaara?" Asked a council member to the left of the white haired man.

Gaara didn't say anything for a few seconds. Finally, he responded. "...It's what I have also heard." He did not look to Maliko at all, but stayed focused on the council.

The council stopped to talk to one another again, leaving Maliko utterly confused. Gaara simply stood and watched. They stopped talking and turned to face Gaara.

"Security will be increased. We will notify all members that Orochimaru is planning to come and to be on their guard. Kisame will be dealt with. In the time being though, I want the girl trained up. I will come and observe her abilities in three days time. Clear?"

"Hai."

"You're dismissed." The white haired man waved his hand in a 'shooing' motion with a smirk still plastered on his face.

Gaara's hand curled around her upper arm, and proceeded in leading her out of the room. Maliko followed without resistance; the thought of the whole ordeal was still fresh in her mind. Once the door was closed behind them he turned to her, absolutely furious.

"Do you realize how completely stupid that was of you?!" He hissed to the shocked girl beside him, trying to keep his voice low. She stared at him for a few seconds before gathering her wits once again.

"What do you mean?!" She yelled back. "Don't try and put any kind of blame on me!" Her eyes narrowed as she began to glare at the fuming man in front of her.

"Baka. Why did you tell them how great your abilities were?" Gaara seemed to be calming down a bit, but was still rather angry. She had just realized how tight his grip on her arm was. She jerked her arm out of his grasp before yelling in his face.

"You told me to tell them what they said! How am I supposed to know how great those Hyuuga people are?!" She let out an exasperated sigh before asking. "Why does it matter anyways? They said they're going to increase security, isn't that good?"

Gaara was no longer angry, but more or less concerned. He replied "It matters because, now that they know how strong you and your sister might be, they'll want to keep you here and use you guys for themselves. Originally you girls were supposed to be for Itachi and I to do with as we pleased." He sighed and looked away from her, concentrating on the ceiling. "As for the increased security, it's both good and bad. It does keep out unwanted visitors such as Orochimaru, but it also makes it very troublesome for you to leave. And seeing as how they are probably going to want your abilities, they aren't going to consent to your leaving of the premises at all until you are fully theirs." He looked back to her, to see that she was now the furious one.

"Why doesn't everyone just leave us be then! We never asked for all this! Why does everyone think that we are something that can be owned!? We aren't a possession! This organization, these people, and YOU are nothing but troublesome for my family!" With this said she pushed him back with all her might, and as his back hit the wall, she turned and ran towards his quarters. He watched her climb the stairs. The sound of a slamming door told him that she made it to his quarters.

'Ugh, I sure hope Itachi gets back soon. This brat is too much trouble for me.' Sighing and massaging his shoulder, he proceeded up to his quarters.

* * *

'How dare he! How dare he even _try _to blame any of this on me!' She picked up a glass from the counter and chucked it at the nearest wall. The glass shattered as it made contact with the wall, and the shards clinked against the hardwood floor.

"That **bastard!**" she yelled. She picked up another glass to throw, but stopped short as pale arms circled around her arms and midsection. Dropping the glass and gasping, she felt a warm breath on the back of her neck.

"I don't think you mean that," soothed Gaara from behind her.

She started to struggle furiously, thrashing her body in any way she could think of. "Let me go you bastard!"

"You know, it wasn't our intentions to keep you here." The grip tightened around her arms and chest to stifle her struggling. "After we were sure that you girls wouldn't bolt, we were going to leave here, the four of us, and not return," Gaara whispered from behind her. Was he trying to comfort her? Or was he just trying to make her stop breaking his stuff? Maliko wasn't sure which one it was.

"Why didn't you tell us that in the first place then? We would have complied before if we had known that we wouldn't have to stay here." She felt his body press against her back and his breath behind her ear. A shiver ran down her back and he let out a soft chuckle before answering her question with another.

"Why rush when there's no need to?" His arms dropped, and he walked towards the door. She stood in the same position he had left her in. Maliko was unsure what to think. The whole scene was out of the ordinary contact she and Gaara usually had. Gaara stopped at the door, his hand gripping the door handle. He turned to look at her.

"I'll be in the courtyard if you need me," and with that he left the room heading for the darkening atmosphere.

The door clicked shut and she heard the retreating footsteps outside. His footsteps faded, until she heard nothing at all.

"Argh!" Maliko twirled around and swiped every glass off the counter with one swift movement. She dropped to the ground, to sit amongst the broken glass pieces and to think about what had happened in the last few hours

* * *

As soon as Gaara had made it to the courtyard, he plopped down on the soft grass, and looked up to the stars. The grass was damp and glistened in the faint moonlight, which shone through the dark clouds. Looking at the night sky had been his favorite past time since he was a child. It seemed to be the time when he was at his prime and nothing could bring him down. Staring up at the vast dark blue sky, he noticed the remains of a rainstorm that had occured while they were talking with the council.

Gaara sighed, and closed his eyes, hoping to rest his tired lids as much as he could. He heard a shuffling of grass beside him. There was no need to open his eyes, he knew that it was Maliko. Her soft steady breathing told him that she had calmed down.

"Gaara?" Maliko said softly, which rather surprised him. He had only ever known the girl to yell.

"Hn?" He grunted back, letting her know that he had heard her.

"Why are you bitter?" She hesitated for a moment. "W-why did you attack your own siblings to get me and my sister?" Her voice was barely audible. But still Gaara heard her. "I could never even think of attacking Tazze...why do you not care if you hurt them?"

He finally opened his eyes and looked to her. She was also lying down on the ground, and her gaze pointed to the stars. He sighed and turned his head back to look at the sky. It was a moment before he answered, but she waited patiently for his response.

"Unlike you, who had family that loved you when you were a child, I did not.... My father ordered assassins to kill me when I had just turned six years. One of those assassins was my mother's brother. The entire village, including my siblings, hated and feared me for something I never had control of in the first place."

Maliko turned to the red haired man lying beside her. She saw nothing but an apathetic face. It appeared that none of this seemed to faze him. Her brows furrowed slightly.

"What is it that you never had control of?" Maliko asked after letting his sad story sink in. She noticed that his whole body tensed at this question. He didn't answer.

"Gaara?" She said his name softly again. He sat up, still not looking at her, and appeared to be contemplating something. After a moment, his head turned to look at her. His expression did nothing to ease her concern. Looking at the man, she saw nothing but raging hate, and a murderous glare. The smirk on his face made him look more sadistic than anything.

She made a move to rise from her position on the ground, feeling suddenly uncomfortable. Without any notice, Gaara lunged at her, making her fall back down. Her back hit the ground hard, knocking the breath out of her. Her features wrinkled slightly as she tried to overcome the momentary pain. He situated his knees beside her upper thighs and he leant down. His face so close to Maliko's that she could feel his warm breath on her cheeks. She turned her head away from him slightly, still looking at his face, but other than that she did not struggle in the least. Suddenly, he planted his hands on either side of her head, and as he leaned in closer to her, he started to chuckle. A startled, almost frightened look came to Maliko's face. Something was different about him she could sense it.

With Maliko's wide eyes staring at him, he hissed "You really want to know why I don't give a shit about those useless pieces of dirt? Hm?" his eyes narrowed as he leered at her shocked white eyes. "When I was born, the Kazekage decided to put the spirit of a dead priest into my body, for me to play host, and to be the village's trump card. My mother gave me a name that means I love only myself. And there has never been a person in Sunagakure to look at me with anything but hate, fear, and killing intent." He finished his fast speech still glaring at her beneath him. Her features seemed to soften. She had not moved one inch since he had lunged at her.

He expected her to scream. Run. Try anything to get away from his unstable being at that moment, like any other person would have done. However, as frail arms encircled his waist and pulled him closer, he found that she meant to do no such thing. Gaara could do nothing but hover in mid thought.

'Why isn't she afraid?'

'Why do her eyes hold no hint of malice in them at all?'

'Why...why does she embrace a demon...?'

He realized she was trying to comfort him. He stared down at her, into her white eyes. She looked back at him; fear was not evident on her face. Her rhythmic breathing below him and her smooth arms around his waist almost did ease him. That is, until Shukaku decided to protest, wanting to kill the woman below his container.

Gaara growled, trying hard to sustain Shukaku's urges to crush her delicate body. Clutching his head, he rolled off her. His sudden instability caused her to gasp and release him from her embrace. Quickly, she got up to rest on her knees, reaching out for the struggling man. He held his head, his breathing became rapid, almost spasmodic.

"Gaara...Gaara are you alright?!" she yelled. His hand shot out and grabbed her wrist before she was able to reach him.

"G-go upstairs!" he hissed through his erratic breathing and grunts of pain. He pushed her hand away, motioning for her to leave.

"B-but Gaara!-"

"Go upstairs now!" Gaara yelled to the girl edging closer to him. She didn't look scared at his sudden outburst, but more or less concerned and worried. This only made Gaara more confused. He saw her hesitate, unsure of what to do. He tried to slow his breathing down taking in larger breaths it was no use. A pain surged through his body, he fell forward, holding his sides.

"Get upstairs now, Maliko!"

Sensing the urgency in his voice, she obliged. She got up and backed out of the courtyard, all the while keeping her eye on Gaara.

Gaara knew that if he didn't send her away for the time being, he might not be able to deny Shukaku's wishes. He quickly got up and dashed in the opposite direction that Maliko had gone, making his way out of the courtyard and into the vast forest. He knew that if he didn't shed someone or something's blood soon, he would become too unstable. Then Shukaku would only continue to torment him and wrack his body with sharp pain. A bloodthirsty look came to his face.

Sensing movement nearby, he picked up the pace. He found a large boar, and started slashing it with a kunai, crushing its legs with sand, and ripping off its flesh with his bare hands. After five minutes of the torture, the boar stopped twitching. Gaara walked a little ways from the mutilated corpse to lean against a tree. His breathing was hard. He was glad he had sent her away when he did. He placed his back against the tree and slid down the side slowly. He sat, thinking about Maliko. He now realized, he didn't want any harm to come to her. These feelings were strange to him, yet welcoming.

* * *

A/N.. Oh my Goo00o0d, you a wOOOmannn?! Hahah u have no idea, how lazy i got on this.. i donno if i'm gonna send this to terri to fix up.. cus it might just take forever to get posted then. But... sorry for a late update again. I think i'll just start doing small chapters again... cus.. these are just too hard. Anyways, i hope u liked the little moments. For i suck at them all! Any suggestions or anything just... email me and i'd gladly put them into effect. I'm so much at a block i dont' know what to do.. anyways, come on guys, i got two whole reviews last chapter... i put my dying heart into that! Review and let me hear u sing!!

owari

Malitia & Eternal Annoyance -- she ended up editing and getting it done in the same night... whoa!


	11. Wake Up Stupid Girls

A/N O MFG I love u reviewers... you completely motivated me. I'm glad u guys liked the last chapter.. i don't really know whats going to happen in this chap... cus.. i don't really have a plot plan. I seriously need help.. anyways, i'll do my best. As always u can check out wat the chars look like (Maliko and Tazze) from the pictures i drew of them.. check my profile and click on my homepage. It will take u there..

Read on!

* * *

Chapter 11- Wake up stupid girls  
  
Maliko sat fidgeting on Gaara's couch, awaiting his return. She hadn't known why he had blown up like that. In fact, shes never actually seen Gaara so mad. It had actually seemed like he was going to kill her right then and there. She wasn't scared of that though, just concerned as to what made Gaara so furious. She had been thinking about this for quite a while, trying to pass the time to when the red headed man would return.

She was never really able to be entertained by herself. Usually she had her sister to talk to, or Gaara to pester to keep her occupied. Making up her mind, she decided to go back out to look for him.

Getting off of the ratty couch, she made her way to the door and spotted a cloak on the ground. Although it was one of the organization's trade robes, she decided to put it on to guard her against the cool night air. She made her way down the stairs and figured she would go back out to the courtyard and see if he was still there. Making her way to the archway, she spotted the white haired man from the council.

Pushing herself against the wall, she decided she didn't want that man to see her. She did a number of hand seals and whispered "Kage Burendo no Jutsu.." (shadow blend technique) and faded into the darkness that surrounded her. She knew she would have to pass him at one point, and was glad that there was no torches lighting the walls.

Making her way towards the man, she noticed that he appeared to be oblivious of the person that stood almost in front of him. Just as she was about to pass him, his arm shot out and his hand hit the wall, blocking her way. Quite shocked she turned to look at the white haired man, who was now smirking.

"Did you think I couldn't see you?" he chuckled and bringing his other arm around, he put his hand on the wall, the opposite side of her head that his left hand was placed. With no where to run, her back hit the wall as she tried to create distance between the man and herself. She wondered why the man was out in the middle of the night. Did none of these people sleep?

"What are you doing out by yourself, and none the less, sneaking around?" he asked. She didn't answer, but kept her eyes on the mans calm face. Before she could react, his right hand shot out and encircled her throat. The back of her head hit the wall as she let out a yelp of pain.

"Hm? Won't you answer me?" He asked sweetly. His sadistic smirk still plastered on his face.

"I was l-looking for Gaara!" she managed to say, making it hard from her lack of air. With this said he loosened his grip but did not take his hand away.

"Where is he?"

"I don't know, thats why i'm _looking _for him." she responded sarcastically. This only earned her a tighter grip around her neck.

"You're quite the snotty little child aren't you. You'd best learn your place quick girl, for there will be no tolerance for your ignorant behavior." he hissed through clenched teeth. Pulling his hand away from her throat, he let it fall to his side. Maliko rubbed her sore neck and retorted.

"The only ignorance appears to come from you _sir. _ And might I add, quite a bit of arrogance also." With this said, he brought his leg around the back of her own, and pulled back, causing her to fall to the ground by the wall. He was fast, and she wasn't able to detect his movement until she was sprawled on the floor.

While Maliko wondered on how he had managed to trip her like that, he stood over her and smirked once again. "You may go look for Gaara. It does not matter if you try to escape, theres no way you could." he chuckled while looking at the murderous glare from her white eyes. "Learn quick girl." The council member stepped over her form on the floor and walked away as if nothing had happened.

She sat up and sticking out her tongue, gave his back the finger.

"I saw that." Came his apathetic voice from the end of the hall. He then disappeared around the corner, leaving Maliko sitting on the floor, the black cloak spread out around her. She picked her self up and continued on her way towards the courtyard.

She felt no need to redo her jutsu after it had faded from her surprise. As her head had connected with that wall from before, her jutsu had released. As she walked out side, she immediately spotted Gaara, up in a tree, gazing at the night sky. Focusing chakra to her feet, she quietly jumped and landed onto a nearby branch, not wanting to disturb Gaara's peaceful state.

Although Gaara had heard the patter from her feet hitting the branch, he felt no need to confirm who it was. He soon felt her sit down beside him on the branch, her arm rubbing against his own.

"Heh, I didn't expect to find you so soon.." she said softly. He glanced over at her, noticing how her eyes shone brilliantly in the moonlight. His eyes trailed down to notice that she wore his Akatsuki cloak. As his gaze moved upwards back towards her face, something caught his eye.

Reaching over he pulled down the collar of the cloak to reveal a large bruise in the shape of finger marks, wound around her neck. She looked to him, wondering what he was doing, and after figuring it out, she tugged the color back up. Sudden anger welling up inside him, he hissed out.

"Who did that?"

"No one." she replied, looking to her knees. She never liked feeling like a helpless girl who needed to be protected. She wanted to get back at the man in her own way.

"Maliko." She looked up, catching his greenish eyes. She could tell he was angry.

"Tell me." he ordered.

"Gaara, its oka-"

"Tell me now!" he cut her off. Reaching over again, he removed the collar from around her neck, and traced the bruise marks with his fingers. "Who did it."

She sighed, knowing that she had lost this. "The man with the white hair.. A council member." she said, looking back to her knees.

"He will learn to keep his hands to himself soon enough then. I'll break them into fragments." he seethed through clenched teeth. He pushed himself to his feet and looked down at the orange haired girl. She gazed back up at him with a confused look on her face.

"Are you tired?" he asked, he sounded as if his anger had edged away some.

"No. I haven't done anything today to make me tired." she replied, still somewhat confused. It sounded like Gaara was becoming more and more concerned about her wellbeing. He was never the kind of person to ask about anyones condition.

"Well then, I want to see your chakra control. We'll train until Itachi and your sister gets back." He reached out his hand to help her up. She gladly took it and got up to stand beside the man.

For the rest of the dark hours, he had her climb up trees concentrating chakra at her feet, walk across a nearby pond, and made her make as many bunshins that she possibly could with her remaining chakra. To say the least he was pleased. She had created a 'just above average' number of bunshins, and shortly after, she collapsed on the ground breathing hard with her lids drooping.

"Gaara, can I sleep now?" she asked, between gasps for air. He walked over to the depleted girl to sit down beside her sprawled out form. Looking her over, he responded, smirking.

"I don't think you need to, you seem perfectly energized to me. Don't you want to be awake for when your sister arrives?" He liked torturing her, he realized that she made a cute pouty face whenever she didn't get her way.

"But Gaara!" she moaned "I _am _tired! Can't you wake me up when she gets here? Please." she tried to put on a sweet smile similar to Tazze's but couldn't because of her lack of energy.

"Well, I guess I could. No complaining though. When I wake you up, you _have _to get up." he said while still smirking. Her attempt at a smile made him chuckle. He would have let her sleep either way, he just wanted to see how she would react if he said no. As much as she liked getting a rise out of him, he enjoyed the same.

"Goodnight Gaara." and with his permission granted she shifted in the grass, and closed her eyes, almost instantly falling asleep. Gaara simply laid down beside her and watched as the sky turned from a dark blue, to a bright orange and pink.

* * *

Itachi had been awake for 4 hours and although it was the middle of the night, it was time to leave. Reaching over, he lightly shook the sleeping girls shoulders to arouse her from her slumber. Although the night had been uneventful, Itachi had still enjoyed watching over Tazze as she slept. As he spent more time around her, he found her to become more and more attractive in his eyes.

As Itachi shook the girl awake, he arms lifted up to rub her still tired eyes. Seeing that she had finally awoken, he got up to make his way out of their shelter.

"Come Tazze, its time to go."

"Iie, just a bit longer.." she murmured as her white eyes flickered shut once again.

Sighing, Itachi crouched back into the shelter. Winding his fingers around Tazze's ankles he begun dragging her out of the opening. She lazily clawed at the ground to try and keep herself in the warm shelter. Itachi chuckled at her childish behavior. As she now layed on the ground outside she became much colder. Shivering, she wrapped her arms around herself and tucked her legs to her chest, trying to conserve heat.

Itachi leant down and picked up the Akatsuki cloak that had been discarded when he had pulled her out of the shelter. He held out a hand to help her up and she reluctantly took it. When she was finally standing, Itachi wrapped the dark cloak around her slender shoulders. She let out a final yawn, and bent down to pick up her pack and the weapons.

"If we make good time, we could probably make it back within 6 hours." she nodded lazily at this information and began walking in the direction of the Akatsuki hideout. Although she was tired, she was eager to see her sister.

* * *

It was around noon when Itachi and Tazze had made it back. Itachi took the pack, the weapons, and the cloak from her and made his way up to his quarters to deposit the stuff. He pointed the way to the courtyard, and let Tazze go to find her sister.

When she reached the courtyard, she was met with an odd sight. Her sister was sleeping on the grass in an Akatsuki cloak, with Gaara lounging beside her, just staring at the sky. As she made to move closer, Gaara shot his gaze towards her, and she abruptly stopped.

Seeing that they were back, Gaara reached over to tug on Malikos sleeve. When she felt the tugging her eyebrows twitched but she did not wake up. This caused Gaara to tug harder.

"Iie!" she yelled, surprising Gaara. She hadn't even opened her eyes. Getting annoyed, he leaned over her and started tapping her cheek with his hand. With her eyes still closed, her arm shot up to punch the man.

She missed.... by quite a bit. This made Gaara laugh. Maliko was proving to be more retarded the longer she slept.

"Oi, wake up stupid. They're back." with this said, she shot her self into a sitting position with her white eyes wide open. Looking around, she noticed her sister standing by the archway with an amused look on her face.

"Why do you look so amused?" the orange haired girl asked. She looked at her sister in confusion.

Gaara looked dumbfounded. 'Oh Kami... She didn't even know what she was doing. I can't believe she sleeps that deep..' he thought to himself. He watched as Maliko picked herself off of the ground and bounced over to Tazze.

As she hugged her sister, she asked. "Did you get them?"

"Hai, I did, although, we were stalled for a bit." she responded.

"What? Why what happened?" Maliko asked.

Tazze was about to reply, but Itachi made his appearance at the archway. As her sister turned her head to look at the dark haired man, Maliko imitated her, although instead of Tazze's clueless look, she held a murderous glare.

Itachi merely glanced at the two girls before turning to Gaara. The red haired man now sat on the grass, not far from the girls.

"The council wants to talk to us about something." saying this he glanced back to the girls and spoke again. "I'll take Tazze to my quarters and Maliko to yours-"

"Theres no need, the council upped the guard. They won't be able to leave even if they wanted to." Gaara cut off Itachi's statement. Picking himself up off the ground, he walked over to Maliko and Tazze. "Do you want to stay down here, or do you want to go up to the quarters?"

Maliko thought back to the ratty couch in Gaara's room, and put on a sheepish grin. "We'll stay here." With this said, Gaara proceeded to walk towards the archway.

"We'll come back here then when our meetings over then" Gaara responded. A confused Itachi followed Gaara into the building, and they both made their way to the meeting room.

"Why did the council up the guard around here?" Itachi asked, giving an inquisitive look to the man in front of him.

"Something happened while you were gone. I'll tell you about it later." was Gaara's reply. They reached the room, and Gaara opened up the door. Upon entering, Itachi made out all four council members at the front table, and Kisame, leaning against a wall.

* * *

A/N OH TEH NOs!! What does this mean?!?!?! Find out, next episode on "Of Death and Sand.... ---- why is it even called that, i do not know.. anyways, i'm so clueless, i had to go back and read the whole story from the beginning... i couldn't even remember wat happened and i wasn't sure if i was making any flaws. Guh! So ya, those wonderful reveiwers got me all hyped up and I just had to do a chapter quick. Nothing real big happened in this chapter and it made me kinda mad.. but next chapter will be good, and hopefully it will be done fast since i kind of know whats going to happen in it... thanks to terri.. speaking of terri, shes giving up on me. Shes too lazy, so there goes all the description that this chapter and future ones could have had. Its a sad sad story. Anyways... REVIEW DAMNIT!! i love you all

owari

Malitia


	12. Oh Teh NOs!

A/N jesus.. i'm starting on this one late.. i just got so frustrated..from someone.. that i hated this story for a second.. but then i remembered not to get down and keep doing what I like.. despite opinions made.... anyways sorry if this is so late! I'm glad most of u liked the last chapter

read on!

* * *

Chapter 12 – Oh Teh NOs!

After the men had left, the twins quickly got down to a sisterly/girly chat. They had taken cover underneath a large tree, and currently resided in the shade, laying in the grass.

"You know, despite how much I hate this organization...I think i'm starting to like Itachi-kun." confessed a blushing Tazze.. The last sentence wrenched at Maliko's heart. Her sister had never had any such interest in anyone, and she only cared for Maliko. The orange haired girl was frightened, to say the least. If Tazze would leave her for another person, she knew she would be utterly lost.

Tazze immediately noticed her sisters pale complexion and was startled to realize the mistake she had just made. She knew Maliko loved her dearly, as did she. Maliko took family to the heart, and if one was lost, the other would suffer greatly. After their mother's death, both the girls had gone into a stage of depression, only confiding in one another. This created a strong friendship-like bond, alongside their sisterly bond. If either twin was to be lost to the other, emotional trials would surely follow.

"M-Maliko! I don't ever mean to leave you!" she quickly blurted out, "You know that right?" Tazze noticed her sisters face soften at this. She sighed inwardly knowing that her sister understood.

"Besides Maliko, you and Gaara seemed pretty close when I came back this morning" she giggled at the look of horror on Maliko's face.

"I-I certainly am not close to that moron!" she hesitated. She actually didn't know if she had any of _those _kind of feelings for Gaara. Sure, he was unbelievably hot, and his attitude did have some sort of sadistic attractiveness to it, but still! Well there really wasn't many cons about him, despite the fact that hes part of the Akatsuki.

'Why am I even reconsidering what I just said! I definitely do not like Gaara! .......... well ... maybe a little.' smirking she regained herself from her 'zone out' stage.

"Well, if you like Itachi, then i'm entitled to like Gaara.. Nyah!" Maliko proclaimed, sticking her tongue out afterwards. Tazze tried to stifle a laugh.

'That idiot! She just contradicted herself.' Tazze swatted at her sister, and turned to lay on her stomach, resting her chin on her hands, and kicking her feet in the air.

"I wonder why the council wanted to talk to Gaara and Itachi.." Tazze wondered out loud.

"Who knows! They probably all had to do each others nails or something." giggled Maliko. "Yes, I saw Itachi's painted nails." Her blushing sister punched Maliko in the back of the head, having heard the last statement.

"Baka!"

"Itai!"

* * *

"First off, Itachi.. How did your visit to Konoha go?" asked the white haired council member.

Peeling his eyes away from Kisame, he turned to face the council. "We were met with a little resistance. We tried to avoid but were unable to. It may be that Hyuuga's will be pursuing us now" he said in an apathetic tone.

"What do you mean? I told you not to get noticed!" The council members immediately became concerned. They knew that the Hyuuga clan, if assembled together, had the caliber to wipe out their organization in one go. Akatsuki's nine members, eleven with the girls, were easily outnumbered since the Hyuuga clan had a large, prominent family. If the y ever came after the organization, it may prove to be fatal.

"We went out of our way to not get noticed, but it seemed someone had been trailing us all along. If the Hyuuga's didn't know about the girls, they will now. Hyuuga Neji had a confrontation with Tazze while I was ... doing a different task." he knew it was foolish of him to go and try to find her clothes, but she made such a soft spot on him. Seeing her dirty and gloomy wrenched something inside him.

"Hyuuga Neji?.. and he saw her eyes I suspect?"

"Hai.. It's hard not to notice." Itachi saw Kisame shift in his peripheral vision, and looked over. Kisame still leaned against the wall, his arms crossed, with a look of annoyance on his bluish face.

Apparently the council noticed Kisame again, and remembered what they needed to say. Sighing, the white haired man stated.

"Kisame. Maliko will now be under your tutelage. She will stay with you at all times, while Gaara and Itachi train Tazze."

"Masaka! Whats the meaning of this Mamoru!" Gaara yelled. He hadn't been listening for most of the conversation, but when he heard Kisame's name, he knew he'd better start. Upon hearing Mamoru's (white haired guy) order, sand had begun shifting in the gourd on his back, reacting to Gaara's anger. It also seemed that Kisame was quite shocked, he did not hear of these orders before hand.

Ignoring Gaara, Momaru turned to Kisame with a stern face. "Kisame, you will go fetch Maliko and train her as you please. I will be monitoring her performance." Still with a shocked look, Kisame nodded and walked out of the room.

Turning back to Gaara and Itachi, he caught sight of the red haired man's furious face. "Now now Gaara. Seeing as Kisame is out of here, I will finally explain." Leaning back in his chair, he sighed. "As you already know Gaara, Kisame has shown treachery. I want to monitor him, and this gives me a reason to-"

"Why not just kill him!" Gaara yelled.

Chuckling, he answered. "Kisame, although stupid, is as important as others in this organization. He and his samehada have immense brute strength that is needed. With him gone, that would leave us with eight members and two stubborn teenage girls." Noticing Gaara's dissatisfaction, he smirked. "Have you grown fond of the girl Gaara? There's no need to worry, she'll be safe enough. The reason I chose Maliko instead of Tazze is because, as she said herself, Maliko is stronger."

"So that means if Kisame tries anything, she'll be able to protect herself well enough."

"That's right Itachi, you're a smart man. I have no doubt in my mind that Tazze wouldn't be able to handle Kisame. I've overlooked her stay here" He motioned a hand to a clear ball on the other side of the table, the same kind the Hokage's have used, "and she seems to be quite the submissive child. Maliko, on the other hand, is quite the loudmouth and it appears that she thinks its her way or no way. I personally think this will all be quite amusing if nothing else."

"Someone wanna tell me what Kisame did that was 'treacherous'?" Itachi growled, irritated at the misinformation.

Gaara quickly explained what had happened the day before. Realization dawned upon Itachi. He knew Kisame had become quite rash without a partner, but he never thought of him to be this foolish.

"You must be getting soft Momaru. I would've killed him on the spot." spoke Itachi, quite irritated that he was not here to do the job himself.

"But, thats why i'm running the show, ne Itachi? If I would've killed him, I would have lost connections to Orochimaru. And you all know how I want him out of the way."

"So what are we supposed to do while he takes over her training then?" growled Gaara.

"As I said, you will continue to train Tazze. She needs the most work, and i'm sure, since you two are so talented, that you may be able to make her potential rise. If you are so worried about your little bee Gaara, you may overlook her training, but do not interfere. I don't want Kisame getting suspicious. Once the girls officially belong to Akatsuki, and are loyal, I will consider killing Kisame and returned Maliko to you." with this Momaru stood and walked over to the door. As he opened it, he stated, "Hopefully the girls will learn fast, and this will be taken care of soon. That's all for now"

Itachi and Gaara strode out of the room not feeling the need to hang around.

* * *

While still sitting underneath the tree, Maliko noticed someone enter the courtyard. Nudging her sister, she gestured toward the man with her chin.

"See him Tazze? I bumped into him the other day. Quick look at his gil-"

"W-Why is he coming over here!" Tazze stammered out. As soon as the man had entered the courtyard, he caught sight of them, and immediately started to walk over to the girls. He didn't look happy, to say the least.

When he reached the girls, he did not hesitate in grabbing Maliko's bicep and jerking her to her feet.

"W-What the hell?!" She heard a 'click' and looked down at her wrist. Cold metal was wrapped around it. It was the same shackle from before. "What are you doing you bastard!" She quickly made handseals, attempting to activate her Byakugan.

"Byak-" Her knees buckled and her legs gave out. Her chakra had depleted too fast for her to be able to do anything. Before she was able to fall to the ground though, the bluish hand tightened around her arm, and jerked her up again.

"Please stop! What are you doing!" Tazze yelled, jumping to her feet. "L-let go of her!" She ran towards the man activating her eyes.

"Byakugan!" she yelled. Chakra puffed to her eyes, and she aimed at the mans heart. Before she was able to hit him though, a sharp kick was dealt to her stomach and she flew back, her spine connecting with the tree. Crumpling to the ground, she fought for breath. The blow had caused the wind to be knocked out of her, and for the moment, she was helpless to stop the man, that now walked away, hauling her twin beside him. Tears formed in Tazze's eyes as she heard her sisters blood curdling screams.

* * *

As Maliko frantically tried to kick and punch Kisame, she was unable to. She could hardly stand yet alone kick, and the shark man had a good hold on her hands.

He dragged her to the second floor, having to stop every once in a while for her to regain her breath after collapsing. As he reached a door at the far end of the floor, he took out a key, and opened it. Hauling her into the room, he kicked the door shut and roughly shoved her onto a large futon. He turned away from her and grabbed a large object wrapped in bandages from the wall. Cussing and yelling he made his way to the door again. Opening it, he turned to the confused girl to growl.

"Stay here and don't touch anything or i'll slice off your pretty legs." before he left he muttered "I'll be back later"

After she had regained a little strength, at least to move around, she did what Maliko does best. Raising herself from the couch, she took the liberty of destroying everything in her wake. She threw ornaments, glasses, and bowls against the walls, sliced the furniture and pillows with a kunai, and even punched a hole in the wall before collapsing to the littered ground, completely worn out.

* * *

A/N i'm sorry it took so long again. I know you all must wait very patiently. And thank you for that. This is a quick update, very short and nothing great, but ..... it gets things moving... soo0o00o0o i hope u enjoyed, i'll try to update quick... but i highly doubt i'll be able to. But since its the weekend who knows... its not like i ever leave my computer anyways. Hint --- Reviews make me overzealous and eager to please... Please review and who knows when the new chapter may appear!

Abayo

Melissa


	13. Kisame's Stupid

A/n GAH!! i'm starting early again.. but this is prly not gonna make it out .. for like another day.. but i'm gonna try anyways!!!! u reviewers are awesome.. just for that.. i shall answer to u.. mauahah

Amelia : ........ o0o00o0o0oo0 i like that, maybe i will do it, but shhh, if u have anymore ideas on the matter.. EMAIL ME

Synette-Da-Killa : you are always my faithful reviewer... the lecherous children send u hugs!

Xkuroxshinobix : i'm glad you liked the pics... i'm gonna be puttin more up soon, so be sure to cehck back for them.. oo0o00o i'm glad someone actually liked them.. and since u are also my faithful reviewer, the lechers send you kisses!

IceDragon316 : well you know.. i think maliko might kill him first... but.. thats just me lol.

Dreaming-Nightingale : Poor Maliko? Poor mE!! the lecherous children are nagging for more story as are you guys! Ingrates!.. haha just kidding.. thank you for reviewing...

READ ON!!!!

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Chapter 13 – Kisame's stupid

Almost immediately after the bluish man had left with Maliko, Itachi and Gaara came running into the courtyard to find Tazze on the ground fighting for breath. Itachi ran over to her and knelt down to see if she was okay.

"Tazze, are you alright?" he asked. His concern was hidden, but she could tell it was there. She felt his hand on her back and she looked up to see his red eyes.

"Someone took Maliko! Where is she!?" she yelled panicking. She tried to get up but was quite wobbly with what had just happened, and her chest hurt like no tomorrow. "W-we have to go get her!"

Sighing, Itachi helped Tazze sit back against the tree. "We can't go and get her. Kisame will be training her for a while. Don't worry though, she'll be able to take care of herself." he said, trying to convince the frantic girl.

"Why can't she stay with us, and he can train her alongside you guys!"

"It's just what the council wanted. She'll be fine." spoke Gaara, standing behind Itachi. He did not look pleased with the new change of plans.

"How will she be fine if she has no chakra to defend herself with though?!"

"What do you mean. Of course she has chakra-"

"He put one of those shackles on her wrist. It depleted her almost immediately" Tazze cut off Gaara. The girl had tears in her eyes, but she quickly wiped them away with her sleeve.

"What?! Shit, he must have taken them when we forgot them down here." Gaara looked to be pondering something. After a moment he spoke "It's okay, he won't be able to take her past the security around here, and plus, she'll scream the chance she gets."

"I hope you're right Gaara." Tazze said while standing up. "If its alright with you Itachi-kun, i'd like to go rest." she said while clutching her ribs. The kick had really hit the spot. A couple of her ribs might be fractured, or maybe just bruised.

"Sure, I'll take you up. Gaara, you might as well go talk to the council about this now." Itachi stood beside Tazze, wrapping an arm around her waist, careful not to hurt her. They walked out of the courtyard, Tazze leaning on Itachi for support.

Gaara made his way back to talk with the council once again, muttering something about 'troublesome'.

* * *

It had been three hours that Maliko had laid on the floor and slept. And three hours that Kisame had been gone. When he finally returned to his mess of a room. He was anything but happy. As he surveyed the damage, he noticed the orange haired girl curled up amidst feathers from his pillows.

Striding past the broken glass and shredded cloth, he stopped to leer over her sleeping form. Fury consumed him, and he kicked her in the stomach, good and hard. Sputtering awake, she clutched her stomach and gasped for air.

As soon as she was able to recover from her shock, she was hauled to her feet by her hair. Yelping, she stood on her toes trying to lessen the pain from the back of her head. She closed her eyes, feeling tears trickle down her cheek. Maliko's arms reached back and her hands fastened around the blue wrist, hoping that Kisame would soon let her go.

"What the fuck did you do here!?" He yelled, giving a rough tug on her hair.

With her eyes still closed she managed to stammer "L-let go .. p-please!"

Growling, Kisame threw her to the ground. She skidded on some glass, ripping her skin. Maliko laid sobbing where she had fell, blood dripping from her arms and legs.

"Get up!" yelled Kisame. "We're going down to the courtyard" He strode over to her shivering form and grabbed her wrist. Pulling her to her feet he dragged her out the door, not bothering to clean her wounds.

* * *

"Itachi-kun.. Do you really think she'll be alright?"

"I do. Now hold still so I can bandage you up." ordered Itachi. Tazze sat on the ground, with her hands planted on either side of herself to keep steady. Itachi had insisted on bandaging her ribs for her, and being the shy girl she was, she had tried to refuse. Her refusal was cut short when he had taken off her shawl and hoisted her shirt up just high enough to get at her ribs and not have her show anything.

He had been quite worried about her condition when they got up to his room. She could barely even walk up the stairs with the pain, but her now soft breathing had eased him a little. He slowly started to unroll the bandages from a ball, getting them ready to put over her ribs.

Sighing, he said softly "You know, you shouldn't try to pick fights with anyone here. This should be a warning to you."

He looked up to see her face doing that 'oh so cute' pout that he loved.

"What is it Tazze?" Itachi asked, with a small smirk on his face.

"I didn't pick a fight with anyone! He started it." she grumbled.

"I realize that, i'm just throwing caution to the wind."

"Fine" Still pouting, she turned her head to stare up at the ceiling, looking like a stubborn child.

Chuckling, he started to wrap the bandages around her ribs. His hands on her stomach caused jolts to be sent up her spine, and she shivered at the touch. Looking up with a confused face, Itachi asked.

"Are you cold?"

"N-no!" she stammered, trying to stay calm. 'This is silly, he's only bandaging my ribs, why am I getting so flustered!' Tazze thought to herself.

"Oh.. Alright.." Itachi went back to work, winding the cloth around her small form, trying to make it tight, but not too tight.

It wasn't long before he had finished and he asked. "Hows that?"

"Its f-fine.." stuttered Tazze looking to the floor. She couldn't understand why she was blushing so much.

"I'll make you a bed on the couch and you can rest for a few hours. But afterwards I want to do some light training with you... Okay?"

"Deal."

With that said, Itachi picked himself off of the ground from in front of her, and walked over to a closet, pulling out a pillow and some blankets. After he had finished rearranging everything on the couch, he walked back over to the place where Tazze was sitting.

Before she knew it, he had picked her up, and was carrying her bridal style, towards the couch. Tazze blushed even harder when he set her down on the couch and covered her with the blankets. Willing herself to relax, she closed her eyes and made her self comfortable.

Itachi walked to the door, and turned to see Tazze snuggling into the blankets. He wished he could stay, but he needed to talk to Gaara about the current situation.

"I'll be back later. I need to talk to Gaara." he proclaimed softly.

"MmMmm.. " Itachi wasn't able to translate what she had just said, seeing as her face was buried in between the pillow and blankets, but he was positive she had heard. Walking outside the room, he locked the door and made his way downstairs to meet up with Gaara.

* * *

A/N wow... i guess that didn't take that long.. I think i'll just start doing small chapters like this, since it takes less time, and I can pump them out faster... Is everyone ok with that? Either way, i want to hear everyones suggestions to as what they think should happen... cus ... quite frankly, i'm stuck once again on the.. happenings with Maliko.. who knows.. anyways... ja! Review!!!!

abayo

Malitia


	14. Who are you?

A/N oo0o00o0o0ok heres a large shot at this.. thanks for all who gave me ideas.. not very many ppl.. but thanks anyways. I don't feel like blabbering.. so Read on!

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Chapter 14 – Who are you?

As Maliko stepped outside with Kisame, she noticed that the day had quickly faded away into night. It gave her more hope, for she didn't plan to stay with Kisame for long. The dark would hide her, and if she was lucky enough to get the shackle off, she could blend with the shadows of the trees. She did not want to waste time in getting back to Gaara and Tazze..maybe Itachi too. She figured she liked him a smitten more than before, mostly due to the fact that she couldn't really hate anyone her sister liked.

Kisame stopped rather abruptly, causing Maliko to almost bump into the large bandaged thing on his back. It appeared to be a large cleaver, but why would anyone sensible wrap it with bandages? Then she remembered, how could a man with gills be considered sensible. She would've chuckled at her thoughts if she wasn't so worried about her situation.

'Why didn't anyone come for me? They must've noticed that I was gone by now...'

Looking around, she noticed that they were in a large clearing. The moonlight shone on a nearby pond, causing all of the surrounding foliage to glimmer with brilliance. She would have to remember this place, she just might be able to relax here... maybe with Gaara.

Maliko was startled out of her thoughts as Kisame turned to look at her. As he looked down on her, he growled. "We're going to spar. Despite how much I don't want to do this, I have to. So don't fool around, the council expects you to be strong."

This made Maliko quite confused. Hadn't he wanted her for Orochimaru? What did the council have to do with this? So many questions buzzed inside her brain, but she knew better than to ask. She would still escape back to Tazze and the others.

She heard the click that told her Kisame had taken off the shackle. Glee consumed her as she realized that her plan was actually going to work. Readying herself for when Kisame would turn his back, she started to gather chakra. She didn't have a lot seeing as the shackle had just come off, but a little would do until she could get far enough away from him.

Her chance had come, Kisame turned to set the shackle on the ground and she swiftly backed up to the looming trees, doing handseals as she went. When she finally reached the trees she whispered "Kage Burendo no Jutsu." and immediately blended to the darkness. She saw Kisame turn around. He must have realized that he couldn't sense her chakra anymore. She heard Kisame curse to himself and decided now was as good a time as ever to go.

Maliko realized that she couldn't go back the way her and Kisame came, for she would run smack dab into him. She would have to find another way, so she turned her back to the clearing, and made her way further into the trees. Not feeling that there was any rush, she decided to take it slow, and hopefully regain her strength.

Fifteen minutes later, she had run into some trouble, for she was now lost in the dense trees, which seemed to have turned into a forest. It was a rather cloudy night, with the whole sky covered except the moon, and she wasn't able to see which way was north. Not that it would have mattered, since she didn't really know which direction the hideout was anyways.

Sighing, she sat down, and leant her back against a tree. As her jutsu deactivated, she looked up to the grayish blue sky, and went over possible options in her head.

'I could keep walking .. possibly get even more lost. Or I could sit here and wait for someone to find-'

Her thoughts were cut short as she heard shuffling somewhere behind her. Before she was able to activate her Byakugan, she felt a tap on her shoulder blade. Scratch that, it couldn't have been a tap because it felt like a dozen stabbing needles in one spot.

Hissing in pain, she clutched her shoulder. A pair of feet walked out from behind the tree she was leaning against, and stopped in front of her. Looking up, she took in the features of a man she had never seen before. Nobility radiated off of him, and she noticed that he was smirking.

"Who are you....and what did you do to me?" she hissed, trying to control the pain in her shoulder. Why did it feel like she was completely zapped of the little chakra she had regained.

Ignoring her question, he spoke "That was much easier that I thought it would be. And I thought that you would just be another random Akatsuki member."

"What are you talking about?" She was totally lost. Hadn't the council said they were increasing the security around the hideout?

"Well it just might be that you're the one i'm looking for." He said as he crouched down to look her straight in the face. Her gaze quickly shot to the ground. She didn't like it when people stared at her, and especially when enemies did so.

His warm hand lightly pushed her chin up so he could gaze at her eyes. She indeed had the Byakugan. Bringing his other hand up, he lifted her red bangs. As he presumed, she did not have the seal.

Maliko was getting a bit irked. This man had been staring at her for quite some time. Jerking her head to the side, she made an attempt to take his white eyes of her own. Apparently he was satisfied with what he saw, and he rose to stand in front of her once again.

"Get up. You're coming with me." he ordered.

"No. I want answers first." she replied, defiantly.

He crossed his arms and sighed. "What answers would you want then?"

"First of all, what did you do to me, and why does my shoulder hurt like hell?"

"I hit your tenketsu to cut off your chakra flow." He was blunt, but he had given her the answer she wanted.

"Okay.. and who are you, and why are you looking for me of all people?"

"I am Hyuuga Neji, and I am looking for you because I was ordered to by Hiashi-sama. He wishes to speak with you."

"Uhh.. I don't know you, and I don't know this Hiashi person." Why would a person want to talk with her if she didn't even know him. She had remembered this Hyuuga Neji name from before though. Orochimaru had spoken of him while talking with Kisame. But had never bothered him, so why was he bothering her?

"It doesn't matter. Come, it's time to go." He gazed down at her, expecting her to rise. She merely glared at him.

"I'm not going with you."

"You're not in much of a place to refuse."

"I can refuse whenever I want bastard. Who do you think you are-"

She yelped as she was plucked from the ground, and hauled over Neji's shoulder.

"I don't have time for this." he told her. He didn't sound angry, but more annoyed than anything. 'This girl sure is defiant.' Neji thought to himself as he held onto her tighter. She had started struggling and probably felt that she had a chance of getting away.

He stopped his walking and dropped her to the ground. Her constant pounding on his back had become quite irritating and he planned to put a stop to it.

As soon as Maliko's back hit the ground, she flipped onto her stomach and made to get up and run. Her hands didn't even leave the ground before she was tackled from behind, and her wrists wrenched behind her back.

Finally having the girl restrained, Neji reached into his small pack behind him and pulled out a roll of bandages. As he wrapped the cloth around her wrists he noticed that she had quite a bit of glass lodged in her arms. Maybe he'd clean her up after their talk with Hiashi.

"You bastard!" screamed the girl beneath him. "I'll kill you!" She still managed to struggle while yelling. Her face was lying sideways on the grass, and she sent a murderous glare to the Hyuuga on her back.

"Be quiet." he hissed, getting irritated with her cussing and yelling. Lifting himself off of her back, he rose to stand over top of her. As soon as he had parted from her, she rolled herself onto her back and leering at him, she growled.

"Make me bastard."

Seeing that he wasn't really paying attention, Maliko kicked at the back of Neji's knees, causing him to lose his balance. Even though she couldn't run, she still felt like venting off her anger. Before she knew it, he was on her again, successfully putting a gag in her mouth.

All her kicking and muffled screaming no longer mattered to Neji. He had wasted too much time here, and needed to get her back to the Hyuuga compound. Picking the depleted girl off the ground, he slung her over his shoulder once more, and began his trek back to Konoha where the head of the Hyuuga clan waited for their return.

* * *

A/N WHAT! What ! What! You don't know me!! hahahh jesus. Anways, this chap was... short, and ..kinda gay. But.. what can you do, i'm trying to hurry to please my wonderful reviewers. Remember, one review recieves twice the kisses... from the lecherous children of course... **hears jaws the**me wtf... REVIEW!!

abayo

malitia


	15. Umm

A/N Hmmmm i'm wingin this one again.. i have absolutely no idea wats going to happen.. thank you to amelia.. for her WONDERFUL idea..... it helped a lot. I'm planning to take all ideas into effect, so if theres anything you want in this story,.. that i can work with... then EMAIL me... and i shall comply. Anyhoo0o0 read on!

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Chapter 15 – You What?!

Maliko had been gone for a half a day, and already Gaara was bored. Even though it had only been a little over a half a week that Maliko had stayed with him, he had rather enjoyed her company, to some extent that is. She always seemed to want to get a rise out of him, but then again, who was he to complain since he enjoyed doing the same to her. To say the least, she had grown on him, and thats a first for Gaara.

Becoming restless, Gaara decided to go out to the courtyard and gaze at his favorite moon. Gathering a spare cloak (Maliko had worn his cloak last night, and never returned it) he made his way down to the grassy encampment.

He was quite shocked to see Kisame storming towards him just as he had entered the courtyard. Confusion set in when he saw Kisame was alone. Wasn't Maliko to be with him at all times? Gaara immediately knew something was wrong.

"Oi! Bakimono. Where is she?" Typical. Instead of calling Gaara by his name, Kisame settled on calling him a monster. The sharkman shouldn't be one to talk. Now that he thought about it, Gaara wasn't surprised that Maliko had escaped from such an idiot.

"She's not with me... Maybe if you weren't such an idiot, you wouldn't have let her escape." Gaara's mouth twisted to a smirk. "Or is a chakra depleted girl too much for you to handle?"

Figuring that Kisame was already angry because of Maliko, seeing as shes able to make anyone frustrated and mad, Gaara decided to make him furious. It would give him a reason to kill him. He didn't want to go against the council's words unless he needed to, and of course, if Kisame attacked him... well then, Gaara couldn't just sit back and take the beating.. he would have to kill Kisame.

"You stupid demon.. I'll show you what I can handle." Again, Kisame was being the typical idiot. And above all, he was a temperamental, impulsive moron. If he expected to win against Gaara, he had another thing coming.

As Kisame lunged at him, Gaara stepped back, dodging the shark man's fist. Bringing his right hand up, he pushed on the back of Kisames head, forcing him to stumble. As Kisame was just about fall, Gaara brought up his left palm, and drove it into the shark man's jaw, causing Kisame to fly backwards.

When Kisame picked himself up off the ground, he reached behind him to grasp his Samehada. He was too slow though. Before he was able to touch the handle, sand enveloped him. Gaara quickly ordered the Subaku Kyu so Kisame would not find a way to escape.

Blood exploded from each and every pore on Kisame's body, causing a rainfall of the red liquid. Gaara did not hinder to accept the flooding adrenaline, but already made his way to Itachi's room.

When he reached the door of his partners quarters, he knocked hurriedly. A long while later, a very sleepy Tazze answered. Before she was able to greet him, he immediately gave her an order.

"Give me Maliko's weapon."

"What?! Why!" Tazze immediately became concerned.

"Just get it for me." he watched her slowly turn and head behind the door. "And where's Itachi?" he prompted

"Last time I seen him he was going to look for you... to talk to you about something.." She must have not slept long because if Itachi wouldn't have found Gaara, then he would've came back. As soon as she handed Gaara her sister's staff, he turned to leave without another word said.

"Tell Itachi I left to go retrieve Maliko-"

"WHAT?!" Tazze screamed, cutting of his order. "What do you mean! Where is she?" Tazze bolted outside of Itachi's quarters to run alongside Gaara's fast stride. He ignored her, compelled to find Maliko fast.

"Fine.. If you won't answer, i'll just come with you-" Gaara had stopped abruptly after she had said that. He turned to her looking angry.

"Get back to Itachi's room." She crossed her arms and glared back at him. "Now!" he didn't quite yell, but he sure didn't be quiet. He grabbed her arm and led her back to the room. As he pushed her in, he stood in the door way looking at the seething girl in front of him. Sighing, he began a blunt explanation.

"I just met up with Kisame. Maliko had escaped from his supervision. No one knows where she is, and i'm going to go look for her. I'm taking along her weapon just incase." he surveyed the shocked teen before turning to go. "Stay here and wait for Itachi. I'll be back with Maliko in a bit."

His confidence assured her somewhat, but she was still concerned. Itachi proved to be wrong with his prediction. Maliko wasn't alright with Kisame. It appeared that the only people that had an inkling of control over Maliko was herself and Gaara. She would probably tolerate Itachi, but that was beside the point.

'I hope Maliko's alright..'

* * *

The ride over Neji's shoulder was quite uncomfortable, and her legs were now completely numb because she hadn't used them for a while. It was rather painful to say the least, and she had soon drifted into a deep sleep so she wouldn't have to feel anything.

Neji felt the girl slacken and decided to speed up. Since she was asleep, he wasn't carrying a rigid body, and this way, she couldn't see the path to Konoha. Although he felt sorry for the girl, he wasn't about to go against Hiashi's orders. Ever since the head of the Hyuuga clan had become a father figure to him, he decided that he would make it his destiny to protect that man, and all of his family. This girl was but another threat set against the Hyuuga family, and Neji was only to his part to ensure that the threat would be fixed..

Along the way he felt the girl awaken every so often, but she soon went back to sleep. It took him nine hours to reach the Hyuuga compound. Upon entering, he looked around to see everything was still. Nobody was awake, as to be expected, since it was the middle of the night. Making his way to the assigned meeting place, he roused Maliko from her sleep.

"Hey, wake up." he said as he jerked is shoulder, causing her to shift slightly. It wasn't long before she was awake and he felt her body grow tense once again.

"We're going to meet with Hiashi-sama. It's not your destiny to die here, so it would be best if you chose your words cautiously." Heeded Neji. He took her silence as agreement (even though she was silenced anyways because of the gag) and continued on his way.

Maliko was a bit worried. This man sounded quite powerful, and she was a bit uneasy about being inside a compound. There wouldn't be much of a way out without her chakra to boost her over the walls. She figured it would be a while before her tenketsu were opened, and she just hoped that she would be able to get out before anything major happened.

But then again, where could she go. She did not know the way back to the Akatsuki, and she certainly couldn't stay in Konoha. And although this man seemed to be family, she did not trust him one bit. Maliko wasn't about to stay in a place where enemies roamed, and where her sister was not situated. She would just have to try and get out of Konoha, and wander, hoping someone from the Akatsuki would find her.

'I never thought I would actually want to go back there..' she thought to herself, disgusted at her wishes. It was her only choice though.

She was aroused from her thoughts as she felt her carrier halt. She heard the sliding of a door, and light surrounded her as they stepped inside a room.

Maliko was set down on a mat, and she shifted to shit on her knees. Looking ahead of her, she noticed an older, long haired man. He had the usual white eyes. She was now on high alert, seeing as she was in a very vulnerable position. Her hands were still restrained behind her back, and she wouldn't really be able to defend herself.

Neji appeared in front of her and he leant down to look her in the face. Reaching behind her orange locks, he undid the cloth that had enabled her from speaking. He stood back up and turned to the man on the other side of the room.

"Hiashi-sama, i've brought the girl."

"Is this the girl that you saw a few days ago?" the deep voice of Hiashi asked.

"Iie. She is not the same one. Gomen" apologized Neji.

"What do you mean? Are you saying there are more people with the Byakugan that I don't know about!" Maliko could tell the man was becoming angry. She simply stared at the man, he looked fairly old, but she could tell he was strong.

"Just one more as far as I know, Hiashi-sama. This is the twin to the one I saw before." he explained.

Hiashi rose from his spot across the room and walked towards Maliko. Mimicking Neji's past actions, he bent down in front of her and looked at her eyes. His gaze then traveled upwards towards her forehead, and he lifted her bangs to reveal nothing but her pale complexion. She watched his mouth as it turned into a frown. He was now looking back into her eyes.

"Tell me how you came to possess the Byakugan." His voice stayed level, and Maliko began to get fidgety, feeling like she was being interrogated. Hiashi's eyes never strayed from her own, and she tried to squirm backwards, only to feel a knee hit her back. Neji was now standing behind her, surveying what was all happening.

Looking down to the ground, she answered "I-.. I was born with it." She looked back up to see his eyebrows furrowed in anger.

"Who was the parent that possessed the Byakugan?.. What was their name?"

* * *

A/N.. That was extremely hard.. I don't know why, but.. that took forever. And its so short.. anyways. I'm tired.. and .. i'm going to watch some Bleach. So review and gimme love!

Abayo

Malitia


	16. Flashbacks anyone?

_Orange hair whipped around the little girls face as she ran over to her mother. Scooching beside the Zetsumeikage under the shady tree, Maliko tugged on her mothers sleeve._

_"Okaasan?" bubbled the 5 year old child. A curious look was plastered on her chubby face. The girls white eyes sparkled in the sunlight._

_"What is it Maliko?" asked the Zetsumeikage, putting an arm around her daughter. _

_"I noticed the other kids have otousans." the small girl fidgeted while looking at her fingers. "Wheres my otousan?" Looking up to her mother, she caught the glimpse of sorrow, only to be replaced with a masked smile. _

_"Your father died so that he could give you life, free of dedication to the Main House where he lived. He wanted to have strong, free children and for that you must honor him by doing the best you can." she looked down to her daughter's smiling face. "Do you understand?"_

_"Hai, I do Okaasan. I will become strong and I will stay free.. I promise!" she replied, hugging her mother's waste. As she snuggled her cheeks into her mother's robe she quietly asked. "What was his name Okaasan?"_

_"Hyuuga Rychii" she proclaimed proudly. "Hyuuga Rychii was his name, and you always remember it, and you be proud."_

_"I will mama." she replied, hugging her mother harder. "...Mama?"_

_"Hm?"_

_".....Do I look like my Otousan?" the orange haired girl hesitantly asked._

_Sighing, her mother replied. "In some ways, yes. You have his eyes, and you have his cute little face" she squealed while lightly pinching the little girls cheeks. "But, you do look more like me... Your Otousan had dark brown hair, like Tazze. But your hair is just like mine... Orange, representing the fiery child that you are."_

_"I'm glad I look like you mama.."_

_"I'm glad too."

* * *

_

Maliko had zoned out for a few minutes, as she remembered her mother. She knew that her mother was sad that they had never gotten to grow up with a father. But, Maliko knew that her mother did the best she could, and she couldn't have asked for more. She was tugged out of her thoughts as she was backhanded by Hiashi.

"Answer me!" He growled, unintentionally activating his Byakugan.

Drawing herself up, with her head high, she answered. "Hyuuga Rychii was my father." Hiashi was shocked at this.

"That isn't possible. My cousin was killed after he left the compound. Are you lying to me girl?" His anger was evident as he took a step forward, looking like he would back hand her again.

She did not flinch. She simply replied. "I do not lie. He left during a night and came to my mother. He was killed shortly after we were conceived." Her eyes shone of defiance.

"That fool. What did he hope to accomplish-"

"He dreamed to make a better Hyuuga line. One that was not cruel to their own family members! He wanted heirs that were not cursed with the seal! And he accomplished his dream!" She yelled at the man. Becoming upset with his insults at her father.

"This accomplishment does not last for long! You will be sealed. And eventually we will find the other, and she will be sealed also." This hit Maliko like a ton of bricks. He intended to ruin her father's dreams. Her heart sank as she realized that she would be unable to keep her promise to her mother. She promised her mother that she would be strong and free, to honor her father.

The older man turned to his nephew to give his orders. "Neji, you will take her to the west holdings, you may then go rest for the night. She will receive the seal at dawn." With that said he turned and walked out of the room. The sound of his footsteps receded until nothing was heard.

"Cmon. You might as well rest until daw-"

"Aren't you a branch member?" she asked, cutting him off. She looked towards the ground, defeated in spirit.

"Hai, I am." He replied softly, looking down at the girl sitting in front of him.

"Then if you know the reality of how brash this custom is... why do you support it?" she retorted quietly.

"It is my destiny to protect my family from harm. Despite the seal, I would still want to protect Hiashi-sama and my cousins."

"And do you truly believe that he would protect you if you were in harm?" Her voice became louder, and her head shot up to glare at the man behind her. "Do you truly believe that he would come to your aide even if it meant risking his own life?!"

Sighing, his gaze strayed from the floor to look her in the face. Tears streamed from her eyes.

"Iie, I don't."

* * *

"Tazze?" Itachi heard rustling from his bedroom when he walked in the door. He wasn't able to find Gaara, despite how hard he looked. Making his way to his bedroom, he wondered what Tazze was doing in there. "Tazze.. What are you doin-"

His question was cut short as he was hit in the face with a cloak. His room was a mess, with clothes strewn all over the floor, and pillows on top of the dresser. Throwing the cloak down to the ground he slowly walked into the room, worried about the girl's stability.

Cautiously, he asked again. "Tazze... What are you doin-"

"Where are my katanas?!" he was cut off again, as she whirled around looking angry.

"Why? What do you need your katanas for?" questioned Itachi, surveying the girl's every movement, wary of an attack.

"Maliko's gone. I want to go look for her!" She proclaimed, not bothering to keep her voice down.

"How do you know she's gone?"

"Gaara told me. He came and took Maliko's staff, and went out to find her." Itachi noticed that every once in a while Tazze would clench and unclench her fists.

He made his way towards her and caught her wrist in his hand. She was clearly panicking, and he didn't like it.

"If Gaara went to look for her, then theres no need for you to go out."

"B-but-"

"No. You will stay here, and be patient." Looking down at her, he noticed she was fighting back tears as she clutched her fist to her heart. Sighing, he lead her towards his bed.

"Here, lay down, and rest for a bit. You're way to stressed out for your own good." He pulled back the covers and went and got the pillows from the dresser. "You sure made a mess of my room." he told her, as he looked around, surveying the damage.

"I'm sorry." she apologized quietly, hanging her head in shame. "I'll clean it up." She made a move to get off of the bed, but Itachi pushed her back down with a stubborn look on his face.

"You're going to rest now.... I'll bring you some tea, and we can both clean the room later."

"....H-hai.."

* * *

A/n .. surprisingly.. that didn't take too long.. phew.. anyways, i know its still short an all. But, i thought this was a good place to leave off until the next chappy. And i now know whats going to happen in the next chapter.. so expect it sometime soon.. hopefully

anyways

ja ne

malitia


	17. Maliko

A/N....Danke for all the wonderful revieeewewes!! They make me all bubbly inside.. welp, i'm gonna try and do as much of this chapter before I have to go to work..-Sigh- i spoil you guys..

Lol this one review stood out.. and confused myself and the lecherous children.

Inuyasha-gal-97 - Nyar! Hiashi should stick a neko up his ass and die! (I just had to laugh at that.. i've been learning japanese and.... HAHA shove a cat up his ass and die!?!?.. it was just too precious to me. Thanks for the laugh!!!)

As for the other reviews.. i loved!!! thank you so much.. heres a reward!! early update!!

Read on!

* * *

Chapter 17- Maliko

Neji lead a defeated looking Maliko to the west holdings. He took her by the hand so as not to grab her arms. The glass was deeply embedded and must've hurt her a lot, but she did not complain. The glass shards were the least of her worries. It was only six hours to dawn and she did not see any chance for escape.

Although her chakra was slowly rekindling, it would do her no good if she was locked in a room. Even if she was able to get out of the holdings, what could she possibly do against a bunch of Hyuugas. They were all advanced with the Byakugan, and although she knew almost as much as they did, she could not beat them. She was only considered strong because of how she handled her Byakugan _and_ her staff. Without one or the other, she was just average.

Maliko did not struggle as she was urged toward a large building in the west of the compound, nor did she protest when Neji took her hand to lead her there.

When they reached the holdings, Neji opened the door for her, and she quietly walked in with her head hung. She simply dropped in the middle of the room to sit and wallow.

"I'll go get some supplies to clean up your arms. I'll be back in a bit.." He was met with silence. Sighing, he walked out of the holdings, and latched the door. He could tell her spirits were dampened, and he understood her feelings. He had felt the same way for such a long time before he accepted his fate. She would just have to learn on her own.

* * *

Gaara followed Kisame's tracks to where he was supposed to train Maliko, and found the shackle placed by a tree. His eyes darted around on the ground, hoping to find a smaller set of footprints. Gaara found them after a few minutes of looking, and started to follow them into the trees. After a while of walking, he noticed that the span of the footsteps became uneven. Showing that she had eventually got tired.

Gaara observed the surroundings and his eyes caught on a black heap not far from him. Running over to it, he saw it to be his Akatsuki cloak that Maliko had worn. Apparently she had shrugged it off to lessen the weight she had to carry. As he fingered the soft cotton of the cloak, he noticed a fair bit of blood on the sleeves.

This only fueled his intentions to find her faster. Throwing the cloak over her shoulder, he continued following her footprints. It appeared that she stopped not long after and was approached by another person. He saw quite a bit of scuffles in the dirt, showing that Maliko had struggled and her footprints disappeared. The larger footprints then became deeper, and Gaara realized that the other person must have picked her up and carried her.

He picked up his speed and followed the footprints. He hoped to catch up to them, as he noticed the tracks were fresh. The chase eventually lead him to Konoha, and then to the Hyuuga compound nine hours later.

Gaara hoisted himself, and Maliko's staff on top of the wall quietly. Looking down, he caught a glimpse of orange in the distance, towards the west. He ran along the wall, trying to be as silent as he could.

When he reached the place where he had seen Maliko's vibrant hair, he saw that she was already gone. Looking around, he noticed Neji walking away from a large building. Crouching down low, so Neji wouldn't be able to see him, he watched the Hyuuga walk by.

As soon as Neji was out of sight, Gaara jumped off of the wall and gracefully ran over to the building. Swiftly unlatching the door, he slid it open to be met with a large, dark room. As the moonlight shone in, he caught sight of orange hair once again.

Walking closer, he clearly saw Maliko sitting on her knees, with her back to him and her head hung low. Gaara noiselessly set her staff on the wooden floor and cautiously made his way towards her. He walked around her, and crouched to look at her. She did not move the whole time, and kept her gaze on the floor.

"...Maliko?.." As soon as he whispered her name, her head shot up to look him in the face. Gaara noticed that she had been crying, as the dust on her face was streaked.

"G-Gaara!?" She yelled, surprised. Without warning she flung her arms around his neck. Not knowing what to do, Gaara hesitantly rubbed her back as she tightened her hold.

"Hurry Maliko, we have to get out of here." he said, keeping his voice low. He took hold of her arm, but she hissed and wrenched it out of his grasp.

"What-"

"It's nothing Gaara.... Let's go." She picked herself off the ground and noticed her staff not far from her. Picking it up, she felt a lot more secure. Now that she was with Gaara and she had her staff and a little bit of chakra back, she knew she'd be alright.

They both ran outside towards the wall. Maliko stopped to look up, surveying how high the jump would be and if she could make it. Before she knew it, Gaara ran up behind her and wrapped his arms around her waist. He pushed off of the ground with chakra, and landed on top of the wall. He swiftly dropped down on the other side and let go of Maliko.

When they reached the Konoha gates, they ran into a bit of a problem. Five guards recognized Maliko, and also saw Gaara's Akatsuki coat. They were circled immediately, and Maliko took a fighting stance, gripping onto her staff, while Gaara simply stood, looking unperturbed.

The five guards lunged and Maliko quickly charged chakra to the five black rings on her staff. Swinging the large grey stick rather gracefully, she aimed the black rings for a guard's neck. As soon as the black rings hit, the skin immediately started to corrode away. She hit him three more times, once in the stomach, second in the leg, and the last on the arm. She did not want to hit him five times, for that would cause the black chakra radiating from the rings to consume his body and his organs to constrict. He would die and she did not want that.

She mimicked her actions on another guard, while Gaara crushed the legs of the three other ninjas with his sand. They were hardly a challenge at all. Maliko knew they must only be chuunins.

They quickly left the scene and made their way into the forest. After an hour of running, Maliko abruptly stopped, panting.

"G-Gaara. Can we.. stop for a bit?" Gaara walked over to her and realized that she was very low on chakra. "Please Gaara. I'm tired." she begged.

"Iie. We need to make as must distance as we can between us and Konoha." She opened her mouth to protest, but Gaara cut her off.

"Here, get on my back. I'll carry you for a bit." He turned around and crouched so she would be able to climb onto his back. His gourd crumbled to sand and swirled around him. The sand would simply follow and later reform to the gourd when she was off of his back.

"A-are you sure Gaara? You must be tired too-"

"I'm fine, just get on." he ordered impatiently.

"...A-alright.." She wrapped her arms around his neck and he briefly caught a glimpse of the shards embedded in her skin.

'So that's why she pulled out of my grasp before.' he thought to himself.

When she was comfortable on his back, he began at a run again. He eventually asked.

"..What happened to your arms Maliko?"

"I fell.. its nothing.." she replied quietly. Lately she had been more shy around him, and he wondered as to why.

"Will you be alright until we get to the hideout?" he asked after a while.

".. Hai.. I will." she was becoming more and more silent with each passing minute.

"I'll take out that glass when we get back then."

She did not answer. Her arms slightly tightened around his neck and after a while she asked.

"... Gaara?..... Do I have to go back to Kisame?" she sounded sad. It made Gaara's heart wrench to hear her so. He knew that Kisame was the cause of her pain. Where else would she have gotten glass in her arms?.. He was glad he killed him.

".. Iie.. You're staying with me from now on.." Her arms loosened and her chin came to rest on his shoulder. Her warm breath slithered along his neck causing shivers to run down his spine

"I'm glad.."

A voice inside his head spoke for him. '.. I am too..'

* * *

An .. AWE.. -runs to a corner and cries- that was hard to think up.. wow... anyways, hope you like.. and once again.. review and show me love!!!

Abayo

Malitia


	18. Traipsing Through the Woods

A/n.. ahem .. i feel this story is getting very.. mushy.. maybe not but.. kinda.. and possibly repeatative.. -sigh-.. but i guess i finally got the main plot figured out.. its gonna be hard.. anywys thanks to Terri (who sent me an email that took half an hour to read) i have everything down packed and ready to type out.. sheesh.. troublesome. Anyways.. here goes it! Read oN!

* * *

Chapter 18: Traipsing Through the Woods

When tea was brought to her, she quietly sat in Itachi's bed, sipping her drink. Itachi took a seat by her covered legs and sighed. It was getting rather troublesome to keep these girls let alone train them. Everyday something new happened that set them off course. They needed a foolproof plan that would make it easier to train the girls and not be bothered. He strongly considered leaving the Akatsuki and going someplace else, but then that would be just another threat on the Hyuuga twins.

Sure Itachi and Gaara could very well hold their own against vengeful Akatsuki members, but Tazze was anything but ready to face that kind of challenge. Maliko also would be unable to win against an Akatsuki member for she did not have any information and more shinobi would probably be on her anyways. She was the stronger of the twins and Akatsuki would probably try to retrieve her, instead of Tazze.

Itachi was startled out of his thoughts to see that Tazze was staring at him from behind her tea cup. He shifted on the bed to face her, and she blushed under his gaze.

"... What?" Confusion was apparent on his face as an eyebrow rose. Tazze set down the delicate china on the end table beside the bed and turned back to see that Itachi was still staring at her. She fiddled with the blankets before muttering so low Itachi could barely hear.

"... I'm sorry.. we're such a burden.." Moonlight shone through the window and as the light landed on her blushing face, he saw a hint of an angelic glow. It was only for a second that he saw that beautiful shining face until her blush disappeared and the corners of her mouth turned down.

"Tazze.. it's not your fault." he sighed. He wasn't good with such heartfelt conversations, nor was he any good at comforting anybody. She was probably the only person he ever tried with. Otherwise he usually kept his cold demeanor, and shut everyone out. "We were the ones that brought you here. So don't beat yourself up."

She smiled slightly ".. Arrigatou Itachi-kun"

"Hai hai.." he sighed again, glad that the short, uncomfortable confrontation was over and that she was smiling again. Itachi watched as she dropped onto her back, and put her arms behind her head, looking at the ceiling.

"Itachi..?" her voice was cheerful, glad that he wasn't mad with her about all of the recent happenings.

"Hm?"

"How come you're a missing nin?" She wasn't hesitant at all. What was with this girl? She's all shy about saying sorry for something that never needed to be mentioned, yet she'll cheerily ask him about his horrible past. Itachi figured she was just clueless. After all, what could be cheery about becoming a missing nin..

"I... don't think you wanna hear about it.." He said, choosing his words carefully so she wouldn't think he was keeping something from her. She still pried on though.

"No, i'll listen! Besides, nothing will change my mind about what I think of you now." she put her right hand in the air, and she had a mock serious expression on her face. "Friends don't desert each other because of the past!"

... Friends. Itachi didn't think he ever had a friend since he killed his cousin, his best friend. Gaara had probably been the closest thing to a friend since then, but that can hardly be considered friendship. They were merely acquaintances. Sighing, he looked to the ceiling, contemplating how to tell her about what he did. He didn't want to make it sound too harsh.

"I killed my clan..." Looking towards her, he noticed her jaw drop. 'I guess I was too clear.' His arms reached up to rub the back of his neck as he sighed once again. He let himself drop back from his sitting position, to lay on his back. His head rested on Tazze's shin and he went back to staring at the grey ceiling.

"Don't sit there with your mouth open. Say whatever it is you want to say." he muttered. Itachi heard her intake of breath and felt a soft tug at his hair. Turning his head towards Tazze, he found a rather.. interesting sight.

Tazze, feeling the uncomfortable air of the conversation, had started getting fidgety. Without thinking, she had let her fingers slide through the glossy locks that had previously laid onto her covered legs. She didn't know why she had went for his raven colored hair instead of fidgeting with the many other things that were around her. The shiny hair had just appealed to her. She unconsciously stroked the long hair before it was tugged back a bit, caused from Itachi looking at her.

Realizing what she had just done, she yanked her hands back and clutched them to her chest, looking utterly shocked.

"Ah! Itachi-kun!" she blurted, looking everywhere but at him. "Gomen nes-"

"Stop apologizing dammit!" Once again her jaw dropped. The horror written on her face could be compared to that of a child that had just gotten their favorite toy taken away. His sudden outburst had gotten her to look at him though.

Her head dropped, and she looked at his hair, strewn across the covers. After a long uncomfortable silence, she began playing with his hair again, watching as it flowed through her fingers like silk.

"... Why did you kill your clan?.." she timidly asked. Itachi kept his gaze on her all the while. Tazze had shown no expression. She appeared neutral to the topic, despite her hesitation to ask the question.

"To see if I was capable of such a feat.." How he was able to keep his voice monotone while talking about such a ruthless subject, she did not know. She was however, curious. Curious as to how he could be so strong as to shut out all of his emotions to kill the ones he loved. Or maybe he didn't love them. It all ran through her head and she almost crumbled under the pressure of so many questions left unanswered so far.

"So.. you were capable then?" Itachi was surprised that she hadn't already started to freak out. Actually, he thought she was taking the new information rather smoothly.

"Iie... I wasn't."

"What do you mean?" Her eyebrows raised as she interrogated the man that laid on her shins, still fingering through his hair.

"I killed all but one." Itachi hesitated before continuing. "I was too soft.. I was unable to kill my younger brother, Sasuke." She grew even more curious at this. So he wasn't totally heartless if he was able to spare his brother. Not that she thought Itachi was heartless, or anything like that.

"So.. your brother is still alive then?"

"Hai.."

"That's wonderful!" she cheered, flicking his hair up. The long strands stretched over his face, and he shot himself into a sitting position.

"W-what did you say?!" he asked as his hair fell down to crawl down his back, bewildered at her change of emotions.

"Well... isn't it great that you still have family?" she inquired, bringing a finger to her bottom lip and looking upwards in a thinking pose. "After all, one would be rather lonely without family! It's always good to have someone you can relate to."

Itachi was confused beyond reason. His mask had actually slipped and instead of holding his stern appeal, his face was riddled with shock.

"Umm.. I don't think you really understand..." he protested against her ramblings.

"My brother doesn't 'relate' to me, unless its relating to me with a kunai in my neck... His only reason to live now is to kill me and avenge the clan..."

Her cheeriness immediately left her and she stared wide eyed at him. "....Oh.... well.." A mischievous grin crept its way onto her face and Itachi sensed a menacing aura. As her eyes roamed to the left, she proclaimed evilly. "Who needs him then.. I'll protect you. And then we'll show him that you are capable of the feat!" Her evil cackling began to scare him. What the hell was she on about.

"You protect.... me?" he asked, stifling a laugh. Her open hand connected with the back of his skull and he clutched his head.

"Baka!! I'm capable of protecting you!" she yelled holding her fist in the air.

"Ha!.. yeah, ok.." He saw the glint in her eyes and got off the bed before she could pummel him. Thinking up an excuse quick he stated. "I'm gonna go rest for a bit. I'll come get you when Gaara and Maliko are back." making his way to the door he heard her growl behind him.

"Sleep with one eye open.."

Smirking he left the room, and headed towards the ominous couch.

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A/N ... Ya i know i could've done more.. but i'm so lazy, and ... its hard to get these out fast when they are so long and i have school and work and shit.. ughghgh. Its gay. Anyways wtf **Chris** person.. what do you mean you're getting ripped off!! If you want something special to happen, tell me what it is.. otherwise i donno.. i'm gonna keep going with what i'm doing.... thanks for the reviews, but.. i don't understand.. is there a hidden meaning?! Anwyays... reeeeview everone!!! and ja ne!

Malitia


	19. It's All Fun and Games

Author Note: Whee Bet you can't guess who this it!! This is Eternal Annoyance (you know....the infamous Terri that Malitia seems to mention once in a blue moon ahahahaa j/k) well, this chapter is written by me....to get Melissa started off on the plan, which_ I _mad_e_. Haahahah, so I hope you like it. And not to worry....Melissa added some stuff and changed it around....so now she's my editor! this time at least....well, enough delay go read the chapter....and make sure to **REVIEW**!!!!!!!!!!!!!

**Malitia** - .....She thinks shes so hot... -picks up kunai and saunters towards terri- ooo0o0 who will be awesome after i'm through EH!!?!!? ... anyways, i'm still doing this fic too.. feh. Anyways.. off you go and read on!!

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The Akatsuki building was dark and quite. Mostly everybody was sleeping. Gaara easily snuck onto the premises of the Akatsuki Headquaters. The moon peaked out from behind the night's clouds and the courtyard was now basked in moonlight. Maliko's steady breathing was rather comforting. Gaara could feel her warm breath on the back of his neck. He stood on the treeline of the courtyard, looking towards the Akatsuki building, glad they were finally back; at least now he could ensure Maliko's safety, seeing as she was back in his care.

Maliko roused from her rest, and glanced towards the same building Gaara was now looking at. A soft smile came to her face; she never thought she would be so glad to see this place.

"We're finally back..." she said in a relieved, and slightly annoyed voice.

Gaara just nodded in response, and simply said, "....hai..."

He walked towards the archway that would lead them inside. Maliko's voice broke the silence.

"Um, Gaara? I can walk. You can put me down now," she pointed out to the man that was still carrying her. "Just my arms are injured."

Gaara ignored her statement and continued towards the door. "We're almost there." He knew he never showed any acknowledgement to her statements nor satisfied her questioning as to why he was still carrying her.

He walked up the stairs, with his sand still following him. 'Could it be my sand that's getting her anxious' he wondered to himself. He pushed the thought out of his mind, as the door to his room came into view. Maliko was getting rather restless, and was glad to see that they were now at his quarters. Gaara let Maliko down gently, careful not to hurt her already injured arms. Maliko rushed into his room as soon as he unlocked it.

She was rather glad to find the place as she had left it. It signalled that this was her room, for now anyways. It was like she had branded the room. The pieces of glass still littered the floor near the wall where she had thrown Gaara's glasses in her blind rage. The thought of glass reminded her of the pain in her arms and how it was becoming more unbearable than before. 'Why couldn't Gaara have come after my arms were patched up', she complained to herself. The pulsing pain in her arm seemed stronger now, and the blood that had previously dripped down her arm was now crusted and dry.

Gaara disappeared into the connected bathroom. A while later, he came out with a small medical kit, and a roll of bandages in his other hand. Maliko sat on the couch, examining the pieces of glass in her arm. She grasped the tip of a lone piece of glass gingerly, psyching herself out, hoping it would not hurt when she pulled it out. She yanked the finger nail sized piece out; blood dyed it red. More of the red liquid leaked out from her wound and down her arm.

Kneeling in front of her, Gaara set the medical kit down next to him. He took her arm into his hand and Maliko pulled back instinctively, cradling it against her chest. Gaara looked into her white eyes, waiting for her to let him bandage her up.

She didn't heed, and still clung to her throbbing and bloodsoaked arm. "I need to clean up your wounds," he informed her, in case she hadn't already noticed.

Maliko hesitantly reached her arm out, allowing him to see her wounds better. He took her hand in his, and held her elbow up with his other hand. She turned her arm from one side to the other, so he could see the full amount of damage. With a small sigh, Gaara let her arm down gently. He opened the kit to grab out some creams, and washes, so the wound would be clean when he wrapped it up. He glanced at her other arm, noticing it was just as bad.

He took her hand again. Maliko took it as a hint, and she held her arm up again. With his free hand he began to pull out the pieces of glass, careful not to leave any in the wounds. Every now and then, her arm would twitch, despite her efforts to keep her pain at bay. She fought the urge to pull her arm back from him. Biting her lower lip helped to stifle the sharp gasp that came with the tremors that shot up her arm.

Gaara glanced up and noticed her discomfort. He tried to get it over with as quickly as he could. He wrapped a small towel around her arm, before he went on to clean up the other arm. It went much quicker this time around. He disinfected her wounds, and applied some creams, that would help her heal faster and lessen the scarring.

"Almost done," he reassured her.

He wrapped the bandages around her arms, careful not to apply too much pressure, or too little. Maliko looked at Gaara, watching him tend to her wounds. Without glancing up, Gaara spoke.

"What is it?" he asked.

Maliko tilted her head slightly to the right. "Why did it take you so long to find me?" There was a tone of ridicule in her voice.

Gaara was not expecting her to ask that sort of question. But he welcomed it nonetheless; it would be better than answering why he was doing this for her. He would not know what to say, after all, he felt rather confused himself.

"Unless you wanted me to wake up the whole of Konohagakure, I had to be stealthy... and that of course, takes time." he said bluntly.

He heard a stifled laugh come from Maliko. Glancing up, he noticed that she was trying to keep herself from laughing. She looked away, to cover her mouth with her shoulder. Almost childishly, she looked back to Gaara and let out the giggle that was urging to come.

"Stealthy? ..Okay," she said with sarcasm in her voice. "That's why you had to fight those Konoha nins as you were _so stealthily_ making your way out?"

She shook her head, trying not to laugh at her own ridicule. Gaara tried his best to ignore her. He finished up bandaging her one arm, then went on to bandage the other. He glanced up at her, seeing if she was done yet.

"Would you rather that I had left you there?" he asked, getting just slightly annoyed by her.

"What?!" she yelled suddenly. "No! I'm glad that you came. Who knows what they would have done to me; I'm so grateful that Tazze and I grew up away from those freaks. Do you know what they do? They force their family to die to protect the 'Head Family'. Pfft. I wouldn't do that. I don't even know them, even though they are supposed to be my relatives."

Gaara was still silent, but continued to wrap her arm up. Once he was done he let go of her hand. He was taken back to find that she still held onto his hand. He looked down at his hand to see her hand grasping his. His emerald eyes looked up to meet with hers. A soft smile was on her lips.

"I was kidding, Gaara...you were pretty stealthy," she said in a softer tone. Her other hand raised to rest on his shoulder.

Gaara straightened up, and just looked at her. Her change in attitude baffled him. With a sigh he looked towards the door. Before he could tell her he would be back later, he felt warm lips on his. His eyes widened in surprise. He pulled back quickly, to find Maliko not more than a few centimeters from his face. Just as quickly she pulled back a little bit. She smiled when she noticed his shocked expression.

Maliko reached out and ruffled his hair playfully. In the next instant, she was at the door, ready to leave Gaara alone. She laughed playfully, almost in a flirtatious manner. Grasping the door handle, she gave Gaara one last look before taking off into the dark hallway. Gaara was still shocked, rather confused, really.

When it occurred to him that Maliko had just escaped from him, he bolted for the door. "What the hell is wrong with her?" he wondered to himself. "Shit..." He looked down to one end of the hall to find it empty, then glanced down the other. At the end of the hall, he caught a flash of orange hair, before she disappeared around the corner.

He ran down the hall, hurrying to catch up to her. Running down the stairs, and through the archway, he came to observe the courtyard empty. He heard a ruffle from behind. Quickly he spun around. Slender arms wrapped around his neck, and once again lips pressed against his. He made a move to grab onto the arms that held him, an attempt to catch Maliko. Suddenly, he found himself grasping nothing. Rather, he saw Maliko disappear into the shadows of the archway. He ran to grab her arm before she completely vanished. It was no use. He spun around again, hoping to spot her reemerge elsewhere.

He ventured along the shadows of the trees, figuring that she would have to pass through the open courtyard. That's when he would catch her. He felt a familiar chakra in the air. Maliko was nearby. He turned around, and lunged for the shadows of the tree just behind him. Just as he thought, Maliko was there. He was rather impressed at her technique. He grasped her biceps and pulled her from the shadows, and the soft grass cushioned their fall slightly. He looked down at her; there was no way she could escape him now. He had her pinned. A smirk came to his face. He knew he had her beat, and he took pride in it too.

Reaching her head up, Gaara pulled back, thinking she might try to bite him like when they first brought her here. Taking this opportunity, Maliko knocked Gaara off her. She rolled over, to get on top of him. Maliko smiled at Gaara, whom was still smirking. As she stradled his waist, she leaned down, taking his hands into hers. She pushed their hands to either side of him, and leant in to kiss him again. Gaara watched as she closed her eyes, and moved in. He felt a shiver crawl down his neck. She kissed him passionately, and Gaara kept his eyes on hers, although they were closed. He closed his eyes, and kissed her back, lost in lust. He wanted to wrap his arms around her, pull her closer to him.

Suddenly, he felt her pull back. He opened her eyes, to find her looking down at him with a childish smile on her face. She quickly pecked him on the forehead, and took off again. Gaara picked himself up from off the ground, and glanced around for her. This little game of "tag" continued, with Gaara looking forward to their meetings each time. At last he caught her. He wandered through the forest trying to sense her chakra. After so many times, he finally caught on to her jutsu. He found her hiding in the shadow of a tree. He reached into the darkness, and just as he thought, she was there. The moonlight once again diminished the shadows, and revealed Maliko leaning against the tree.

"Took you long enough," she said with the same smile.

Gaara stood there; captivated by her beauty as the soft moonlight hit her pale skin and vibrant hair, giving her a bluish glow. He thought she looked more magnificant at night. It was only natural, afterall, Gaara was a night roamer, and he loved the moon.

The touch of her hand on his arm brought him back. Her fingertips traced their way down to his hand. She moved into him, her breath on his neck, sent shivers down his spine. The touch of her lips on the sensitive skin below his ear made him freeze on the spot.

"I think it's time to call it quits," she said in a low whisper. "I guess I'm the winner."

With that she walked away, towards the archway. Gaara watched her walk away, confusion still in his mind. He strolled around the forest for a while, before deciding to go back in. The thought of her kissing him kept coming to mind. He wondered why his mind was so fixated with the memory. Thinking about it made him realize how much he wanted to be with her. She was understanding of him, but more importantly she did care. He wanted to make sure nothing would ever happen that would harm her.

He knew that Konoha would only send more shinobi about Maliko, now that they knew she was with the Akatsuki. He needed to take Maliko somewhere where Konohagakure did not know of. The new security posed a problem. How would they be able to leave? Plus, Maliko would never leave without her sister. Unless, he convinced Itachi to take the girls to another section of land that the Akatsuki had; Itachi would be able to convince the council to let them take the girls there. He had his way with words.

Gaara decided to see Itachi. He was set on getting Maliko away from the Akatsuki Headquarters. He was certain that Orochimaru would not be able to find them either. Making his way back to the archway, Gaara was wondering how he would convince Itachi to go along with his plan. At least, if they did go, there would be less distractions in training. There goals would be reached quicker; besides, they did not have to return, especially if the girls were more capable of taking care of themselves.

He decided he would see Itachi before returning to his room. Actually, Gaara was rather surprised with himself. He never thought he would care about someone as much as he cared about Maliko now. Her previous seduction and teasing games also had a different effect on him. Reaching his hand up to his forehead, Gaara let his fingers slide over the kanji that was tattooed on his forehead. The kanji 'Ai'. Love.

With a sigh, he made his way up the stairs, and down the dark hall. Maliko was probably asleep, he figured, unless she was waiting for him to get back. Either way, he had to speak with Itachi first. He walked down the hall, until he got to Itachi's door. He knocked on it a few times before anybody answered. The door opened, and Itachi appeared out of the darkened room.

"Itachi," Gaara started, "I need to talk to you."

Itachi peaked out of the door and down the hall. Then he glanced back towards his bedroom, making sure Tazze was still asleep in his bed. He looked back to Gaara.

"Give me a moment," Itachi answered in a low voice. "We'll go somewhere else."

Itachi disappeared back into his darkened room, leaving Gaara to wait in the hall. Moments later, he came back out. Gaara gave him a quizzical look. Itachi closed his door quietly, careful to not awaken Tazze, for obvious reasons. This was an excuse to leave for the time being.

"Alright," Itachi said finally. "What is it that you wanted to say?"

"We should take the girls to train somewhere else. There would be no more distractions, seeing as almost everybody knows the girls are with the Akatsuki now," Gaara explained.

"I was thinking of something along the same lines.. but it won't be that easy."

"If we can convince the council that the girls are safer away from here, they will agree."

"Only if they know that it benefits them," Itachi pointed out. He wasn't trying to disagree with Gaara. He also wanted to take Tazze to train somewhere else. He knew that she was capable of becoming stronger, but she needed all the distractions taken care of, especially having her sister being captured. "Now, we have to make sure that only the council knows of our plans. We won't tell them where we are going, unless, they already assign us a location to train at. We'll talk to the council in the morning. If they do agree, we will leave immediately."

Gaara nodded, then began to walk away. "I'll come around 9 o'clock tomorrow. Maliko will have a chance to visit with her sister."

Itachi walked back into his room, being very quiet so as not to rouse Tazze. He figured she was just tired, that's why she acted so strangely.... and evil. With a sigh, he went back to sleeping on the couch. Elsewhere, Gaara quietly snuck into his room. Maliko slept peacefully on the couch. Gaara went over, and pulled her blanket up over her shoulders. He watched her for a moment, before walking over to the nearest wall. He sat, waiting for nine o'clock to roll around.

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**Terri** - Gah! That was a hard chapter to write....since I don't normally write such touchy-feely romantic fics....even though this doesn't seem like a romantic fic lol Still, it was sure damn hard. lol welp, I hope you enjoyed that....i tried . REVIEW luv ya!

**Malitia** - Stupid Terri.. always bettering me! GAH!! i'll get you terri-sama! Anyways.. i fixed some stuff, added some stuff. But overall, i think this chapter has to be the best out of all of the others... seeing as terri-sama writes better than i do.. -sigh-.. maybe if we can review with lots and lots of praise, terri-sama will do this for us more often.. let us review and give thanks and love!! .... its like we're talking to God... -sigh-

Owari

Eternal Annoyance / Malitia


	20. Ta Da!

A/N.. welp.. i haven't heard from terri in a few days.. so i guess i'm stuck on doing this chap alone.. -sigh-.. anyways. Some of you really liked the last chapter so... i'm gonna try to do my best with writing this one!! although.. i don't know what going to happen cus really its all terri's ideas... she holds them in her brains and doesn't give me details... anways read on!

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Chapter 20 – Torture!

The sun had rose not long after Gaara had returned to his quarters. He had thought about the night before while waiting for nine o'clock to come. He found that time wasn't flying by as fast as he wanted it to and he was tempted to rouse Maliko so the wait wouldn't be so boring, but decided against it. She'd probably skin him alive if he tried.

When it was almost nine o'clock, Gaara made his way over to the couch to wake the orange haired girl up. Feeling rather evil, he grabbed a glass of water on his way. Crouching down beside the couch, he dipped his pointer finger in the water and smirked. He brought his hand to hover over her forehead and let the water drip in between her eyes. This was considered a Chinese torture trick and he was rather interested to see how a sleeping Maliko would react.

With every drip, Maliko's face would flinch, but it didn't take long for her to begin to get annoyed. Her mouth opened slightly and her head whipped from side to side trying to escape the tiny droplets, but this only resulted in the water getting all over her face. Despite all of her thrashing, she still remained sleeping.

Gaara was rather pleased with himself. He loved to torture people and it only made it all the better that he could torture her. After all, she got to have her fun last night with torturing him, why shouldn't he be able to have his.

Gaara hesitated in his games as he remembered last night. How she had sent constant shivers down his spine everytime she had kissed him and wrapped her arms around his neck. Gaara couldn't hold back the smile that escaped his lips. It was all too pleasant to think about.

As he thought about the events of last night, he failed to notice Maliko's hand twitch. Her normal sleeping reactions were starting to kick in and Gaara was all too unaware.

Without any warning, Maliko's fist shot up and her eyebrows furrowed in her sleep. Gaara simply stared at her confused. It was the same as when he had woken her up in the courtyard. She had missed him then, and she missed him now. While Gaara sat beside her, she had punched the air above her.

Chuckling, Gaara dipped his hand back into the water. This was becoming too amusing for him and he didn't want to stop. He wanted to see how much more she could stand.

As he held his dripping hand over her forehead once more, she immediately began thrashing again. Her struggling to get away from the water had caused her to become entangled in the blankets. Unconsciously, she started to roll around, trying constantly to relieve herself of the torture. As she continued to roll around, she eventually came closer to the edge of the couch.

Just as she was about to fall off of the edge, Gaara made a move to grab her before she did. He was too slow and Gaara ended up on his back with Maliko on top of him, still sleeping. His face was turned to the right as Maliko's wet cheek was pressed against his own. Either Gaara was a really soft cushion to fall on or Maliko was a really...really deep sleeper.

Gaara tried moving from beneath her but found to be thoroughly trapped. Their legs were entwined and Gaara was caught underneath the blankets. There was also the fact that Maliko had a strong grip on his shoulders. She seemed to have inhuman strength while sleeping.

He tried to formulate a plan in his mind so Maliko wouldn't come to any wrong conclusions. He couldn't exactly tell her he was torturing her with water while she was sleeping. After all, who would believe that? As he became more and more frustrated, he sighed, causing Maliko to rise and fall along with his chest..

Just as Gaara had finally come up with a plan, Maliko's eyes flickered open and lifted her head up to yawn. Placing her hands on either side of Gaara's torso, she pushed herself up and stopped to hover over Gaara. As she held herself up with her arms and looked down at Gaara with confusion, water from her own face dripped onto his.

He readied himself for the blow, closing his eyes and turning his face away from her. It never came. She hadn't moved an inch. Gaara opened one eye and looked towards her to see her smiling sheepishly.

"My, you're comfy!" she proclaimed cheerfully. Rising up a bit, she sat back on Gaara's hips. Noticing that her face was wet, she reached her arm up to wipe away the water.

"Gaara? Why is my face wet?" she asked sending a suspicious glare his way. He simply shrugged and made a move to push himself up. Maliko placed her hands on his chest and promptly pushed him back down. She bent forward to hover over him again, her hands still on his chest, holding him down. "Care to answer?"

He looked to be contemplating something. He licked his lips before finally answering her. "You were crying in your sleep..."

A smirk flickered across her face and she brought a finger to her chin.

"Hmm.. Funny, cause I remember having quite a nice dream.." she looked down at him with suspicion once again.

"They were.... tears of joy?" he half proclaimed, half asked.

She giggled at this. "You're some piece of work." She pushed on his chest and rose to stand over him. "So? What are we doing today?"

This reminded Gaara about his plans for the day. He shot a glance towards the clock and noticed it was now quarter after nine. "Shit.. we're late." He had an apathetic tone but he hurriedly got off the floor. Grabbing her hand he rushed her out the door.

"G-Gaara! What are you doing!" she yelled trying to tug her hand away. "I can't leave like this.. I look like shit." he stopped and whipped around to look at her. Her face was glossy where she had missed some water and her hair was all over the place from her thrashing before.

Gathering his sleeve in his hand and he reached up to her face. Instinctively she backed away but he brought his other hand to the back of her neck to halt and steady her. He hurriedly wiped away the water and took ahold of her hand again.

"There you're fine now." he said, not bothering with her hair. He thought she looked rather cute with her orange locks splayed all over the place. As he began tugging her along again, he didn't notice her beginning to pout.

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Tazze woke up at 8:30 and looked around the room. Getting out of the bed, she walked over to the window. As soon as she opened the curtains, light showered the room and she was thoroughly captivated by the sight below her. The three story hideout hovered over the forest, creating quite a view. The tops of the trees made it look like she was floating on green clouds. A smile formed on her lips from the first pleasant view she'd seen in a long time.

Deciding she would have a shower, she gathered some clothes out of her bag that she had retrieved from Konoha and stepped outside into the main room. Looking around the dark room she noticed Itachi was still sleeping. When he was awake he always looked relaxed but one could always tell he was tense. But now when he slept, Tazze seemed to think he looked rather peaceful. She walked past the couch that he laid on and made her way over to a window. Moving the black curtains aside, she lifted up the glass to let fresh air flow in and then put the curtains back over so Itachi wouldn't wake from the light.

Tazze walked past Itachi's sleeping form once more and entered the bathroom, feeling rather excited to have a warm shower. After all, what girl didn't like showers?

Reaching back, she tried to run her fingers through her long dark hair. She wasn't able to. She growled and cursed herself for not braiding it last night. This shower was going to be more tedious than relaxing.

After much fighting with her hair, she decided to give up. It was absolutely impossible to get her hair untangled by herself. Maybe she'd try when it was dry...

Stepping out of the shower, she dried herself off and got dressed in her traditional cloak that she had received from her mother. As she trudged out of the bathroom, she wondered about the events that might pop up during the day and if Maliko had made it back alright.

She let her eyes wander over the main room. There wasn't much to look at except the elegant furniture and drapes. She wondered if all the rooms were like this and if Maliko had the pleasure to stay in such aristocratic arrangements.

Tazze was startled out of her thoughts when she felt a pair of hands on her shoulders. Whipping around she came face to face with Itachi, looking as apathetic as usual. She quirked an eyebrow at him as his eyes seemed to inspect her.

Niether of them had said anything for quite a while and the silence was beginning to irk Tazze.

"Ah... W-would you like some tea?" she asked hesitantly. His red eyes stopped travelling about her to gaze into her own.

"No thanks.." He turned and walked into the bathroom, shutting the door. Not long after she heard the water running and figured he must be having a shower She simply stared at the door and wondered what his problem was. He seemed more.... distant than usual.

She shrugged and made her way to the kitchen to make some tea for herself. Plopping herself into a chair, she sighed and waited for her water to boil.

A while later, after Itachi had gotten out of the shower and Tazze finished her tea, a rapid knocking was heard at the door. She saw Itachi glance towards the clock, which read twenty after nine, and then casually strided over to the door. As soon as he opened it, Maliko jumped in and bumped into Itachi chest. Despite how short Itachi was, the girls were still a head shorter than him.

Maliko glanced up to see who she had bumped into and noticed it to be only the Uchiha. She brushed past him without an apology and her eyes began darting all over the room. She found sight of her sister and bounced over to her.

Immediately she noticed the finery in which Tazze was sitting at. The table was of the finest oak and as she glanced around she found that the rest of the room was just as sophisticated. Shooting a glare at Gaara she yelled.

"Gaara! Why don't you own anything nice like this?!" His ratty couch immediately came to mind. He simply glared back and she huffed at him. Turning back to her shocked sister she muttered. "Why are you staring at me like that..."

"Ah... I didn't know you were coming.." Tazze abruptly shot her gaze up and noticed the wild orange fringe that would be Maliko's hair. Maliko also noticed the mop that was Tazze's hair and they said in unison.

"What happened to your hair?!"

Tazze giggled and grabbed her sisters hand to drag her into Itachi's room. Meanwhile Gaara and Itachi watched their anicdotes with mild amusement. Itachi decided it was time to get their plans under way and nodded to Gaara, signalling they should go.

Sighing, Gaara made his way over to Itachi's room to inform the girls that they would be gone for a while. When he entered the room he observed a disgruntled Maliko and a cheery Tazze. Tazze was currently fighting with Maliko's hair, trying to tame it.

"Oi.. We have things we need to do. You two stay here until we get back." he ordered and turned back towards Itachi not waiting to hear the girl's response. Maliko and Tazze glanced at eachother and shrugged, hurriedly getting back to what they were doing. Funny how Tazze was so dense that she wouldn't ask Maliko what happened the night before and why her arms were covered with bandages. Awel, you know what happens when girls start fiddling with their hair.. nothing else matters.

Itachi and Gaara made their way down the stairs to meet with the council and discuss the arrangements to take the girls away from Headquarters to train.

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A/N well that was extremely gay... nothing really happened.. anyways! Hopefully i can send this to Terri before i put it up..... it would be nice.. so.. review.. or i'll kill you!!!1!! --- just kidding but review anyways

Ja ne

Malitia


	21. o0oo0o00 The Council!

A/N whoa.. got screwed over... lol awel at least this way i got to start a new chapter before i actually posted chapter 20 up... and maybe i'll have time to send these to the ever busy terri! Yay! Anyways... i'll stop blabbering and start.. read on!

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Chapter 21 – o0o00o The Council!

The hideout was dark with not a soul in sight. S-Class criminals never felt the need to be up before nine in the morning, so most were still asleep, except for the one or two ninjas on guard. Itachi and Gaara were glad they wouldn't have to meet up with anyone else other than the council members.

As Gaara and Itachi neared the room, Itachi stopped and turned to Gaara who had stopped not long after.

"Let me do the talking. I think I've got everything worked out in my head." he muttered keeping his casual composure.

"Fine by me. The less I talk the better." Gaara responded, inwardly relieved that he wouldn't have to talk to people much. He had been talking too much for his liking lately. Maliko always seemed to have questions for him and if he didn't answer, she would surely do something to regret it. Therefore he'd become tired of talking and was glad to have someone else do the explaining.

They both continued walking and when they reached the door to the meeting room, Itachi did not hesitate in stepping in. Inside the room there was but one council member, who now pored over a large map and mission papers. Mamoru looked tired as he propped his elbow on the table and held his head in his hands.

Itachi and Gaara stopped in front of the table to wait for Mamoru's acknowledgment that they were there. It didn't take long.

"What is it you two want.." he asked, sounding tired and apathetic, his eyes still glued on the documents in front of him.

"We wish to take the Hyuuga girls out of the Akatsuki perimeters to train." stated Itachi, cutting right to the chase. This caused Mamoru to finally look up and survey them.

"And why would you want to do that?" he questioned, now showing interest.

"There has been to many obstacles and distractions here. We have not been able to train the girls yet, and Konoha is constantly being a problem." Itachi proclaimed.

Mamoru looked to be contemplating something. Propping both elbows on the table and entwining his fingers together, he was silent for a moment.

"Alright. Before we get to that." He looked to Gaara with a blank expression. "Why is it that Maliko is once again in your custody?" he asked, raising an eyebrow.

"Kisame came to me and simply said he could not handle someone so stubborn. He wished the task back on me, so I took her back." Gaara lied, keeping his composure. He had killed Kisame last night but he wasn't about to freely let that be known. It would make him seem like a traitor and therefore be harder for them to take the girls out. Maybe if they left this morning, no one would notice the blood soaked courtyard.

"Hm.. " Mamoru became silent again and looked down to the map on the table. Surveying the areas he came upon one spot and pointed a finger to it. "If you are to take them out of here, I still want them on Akatsuki land." He glanced up to see if the two men were listening. They nodded and he went back to talking.

"You will proceed to the Zetsumei Falls. It will provide cover and food and water will be easy to come by." Gaara and Itachi nodded and turned to walk out of the room. They were stopped as Mamoru ushered and order to them. "Also, while you're there. I would like you to venture up the river to the remains of Zetsumeigakure. I have heard that there are still scrolls there and I would like to see if that is true. Clear?"

"Hai.." Itachi said while gripping the door handle. They were signaled to go and they immediately left the room. The men walked down the hallway and proceeded back up the stairs to Itachi's room in silence.

When they reached Itachi's quarters they stepped in quietly after hearing a giggling from the next room. Gaara went to go get Maliko so they could go pack in his own quarters, but when he looked inside Itachi's bedroom he was interested to see Tazze giggling at a blushing Maliko. Wondering what they were talking about he decided to eavesdrop before letting himself be known.

"Maliko! What would mother think!" said Tazze in a hushed voice, holding her hand up to her mouth to try and stifle the giggling.

"It was just a blur of the moment kinda thing" whined Maliko, putting on a childish pout and trying to conceal her blushing with a blanket from the bed. By now Gaara was really confused. What in the world were those two retards talking about?! Gaara was all too eager to find out what could make Maliko so fidgety so he could use it against her.

"If the little game went on for that long I doubt it was a 'blur of the moment' type of thing." Tazze proclaimed waving her finger at Maliko.

"I-..It was n-nice either way.." Tazze gasped at this and clapped her hands over her mouth in horror.

"M-Maliko! I thought you were just playing games with Gaara! I never would of thought you liked him that much yet!" This quirked Gaara's attention to the max. Maliko had apparently told her sister about last night and their little 'game'. He could definitely use this seeing as he now knew that she enjoyed it and since he enjoyed it as well it would make it all the more fun to play with her. He went back to watching the two girls and their little chat.

The brown haired girl took her hands from her smirking mouth to playfully punch her sister in the arm. "I thought you would be more subtle Sister." Gaara was amused to see that Maliko blushed harder and buried her face into the blanket that she held. Deciding he had heard all he needed to he turned around and made his way to the door, but caught a questioning glance from Itachi before he was able to reach it. Gaara simply waved his hand, shooing the question as if it were of no importance, and opened the door only to slam it, hence, letting the girls know they were indeed back.

Tazze came bouncing out of the room looking a little bit.. too cheery and not far behind her was a sulking, pouting Maliko. Gaara smirked at her childish face and waved for her to follow him out the door.

"Where are we going?" she asked quietly.

He turned his gaze upon her, but kept on walking. "We're going to pack."

"Pack for what?!" a hint of concern was heard in her voice. Obviously she was worried about them going somewhere without her sister.

"The four of us will be leaving to a place to train. There's too many distractions here." he stated rather bluntly. When they entered Gaara's quarters he handed her a pack and motioned for her to get whatever she needed or wanted to bring along with her. She ran around the room finding clothes, packing food, and getting other miscellaneous items in a shocking amount of time. Apparently she was a little too eager to leave the Akatsuki hideout.

Snatching up her staff and swinging the pack over her shoulder, she impatiently waited at the door for Gaara, and silently bidding farewell to his ratty couch. Oh how she loathed that thing.

Itachi and Tazze showed up almost at the same time as Gaara finished packing, and Maliko was perturbed to see her sister still smirking sheepishly. No words were exchanged between the four and they left the hideout and made their way south through the forests. Maliko broke the horrible silence that seemed like it was screaming in her ear.

"So... Where are we going?" It took a moment for the men to answer. They contemplated on whether they should tell them, but figured they would find out anyways.

"We'll be staying at Zetsumei Falls. But we have to go Zetsumeigakure to gather some scrolls." he kept his voice calm, sounding like it was no big deal. But to the girls it was a big deal. They hadn't seen their home for seven years and was almost scared to see it. Gaara noticed the girls tense as he walked behind them.

It was true that they had missed their home deeply, but the girls were very much afraid to see their destroyed village, vacant of any life. They knew that the Akatsuki had not destroyed the village, just merely killed all of its inhabitants. The girls also didn't need to worry about the empty village being plundered by thieves or the like because all were too scared to step foot inside the proximity of the Hidden Death. Maybe afraid of dark omens, ghosts, or possibly of survivors that guarded over it. Death nins were trained assassins and could easily kill a band of thieves with little to none effort.

The four traveled all day and long into the night before they reached their destination. Zetsumei Falls were located just below the village. The river ran beside Zetsumeigakure and down a large cliff to create a magnificent site. All around black rose bushes grew in heaps, reminding the girls of the last time they had played in similar bushes outside the Zetsumeikage tower before the Akatsuki had attacked.

Immediately the girls made their way behind the falls to a place they used to play with their best friend when they were just becoming ninjas. Itachi and Gaara followed the girls without a word, knowing that they knew the terrain around here. They were all able to slip into a fair sized cave behind the falls without becoming drenched with the water.

Throwing down their packs, the girls dropped to the floor and closed their eyes, tired from the long walk.

"So? What are we gonna do now?" said Maliko while putting her hands behind her head to act as a pillow. Gaara glared at her, but she didn't seem to notice since her eyes were closed.

"Well.. Since you to are _so _comfortable, Itachi and I will go and set the traps around here. Wouldn't want anyone stealing our women." retorted Gaara, crossing his arms across his chest, pleased when Maliko's eyes snapped open and blush roamed her cheeks. It was all too easy.

After looking from Gaara to Maliko with mild confusion, he shrugged and made his way back into the morning sun. Gaara merged not long after and they both went along to set up traps.

Inside the cave Tazze was having a grande ol' time giggling at her beet red sister.

"Cmon Maliko! You can't be that embarrassed!" Tazze nudged her sisters arm. "After all.. you did come onto him first.." Maliko presented her sister with a slap in the back of the head and turned so she was no longer facing her. The brunette giggled before laying back down, hoping to catch a little bit of rest before the men came back.

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AN HAHAHAH TERRi!! did you notice the blur of the moment! Haha... this is an inside joke kinda.. we were in our comp net class and Terri said something was a blur of the moment.. and it was funny cus i was like... what are you talking about, its spur of the moment.. and she got into this big argument/discussion with me ahaha.. she actually thought is was blur of the moment.. -sigh- the good ol day... now that i type it out tho... its not really that funny... the memory is great either way..... 

wow... i'm slow..... i'm trying to get terri 'all up ons' on this story.. but i donno.. i thinks shes getting angry with me..... do i ask her for help too much? Maybe.. possibly.. but u never know with her! Shes always saying omg!! i wanna edit, write chapters.. so on and so forth.. but then when i ask her to do it.. she just.... stops talking to me for a bit... odd.. awel, maybe i'll leave her alone ne?

So anyways i hope you guys liked the update, i'm getting much slower with these and i'm sorry!!!! its hard to write stories when i don't have a clue in my head wats going on! But i'm trying ! Yay!! REVIEW!!!!

Abayo

Malitia


	22. Zetsumei Falls

AN ... HAHA somebody sent a review hahaha it was so funny. It was a poor excuse for a flame. Calling my chars mary sues and making them up for the sole purpose of something or other.. well ya.. why wouldn't i? Anyways i thought it was funny. They reviewed it for the first chapter though.. they hadn't even read past that.. like ya its gonna be boring if u just read the first chapter stupid person!

Awel i found it rather amusing anyways. Soap! I don't really know whats going on and i wish terri would come and talk to me so i could know! So sorry if this has been getting really uneventful.. i'm just in a state of lostness.

Read on!

Chapter 22 – Zetsumei Falls

Even though Gaara and Itachi had assumed it would be safe here, they still felt the need to set up countless traps. They were very determined to not have anybody or anything disturb them for the time being.

When the men had finished setting up the traps, the sun had rounded to the middle of the sky, signaling that it was now noon and time for them to get something to eat. Itachi ventured back to the cave to start a fire while Gaara romped around the woods, avoiding traps and trying to snag some unfortunate animals.

As Itachi entered their little hideout he found the girls sleeping, albeit far away from each other. It seemed they had started arguing about something or other and were trying to ignore each other. Typical sibling spats.

Shortly after Itachi got the fire started (which wasn't easy seeing as they were behind a waterfall), Gaara emerged with six brown hares tied onto a long stick. He untied the hares and proceeded to saunter over to the girls. With stick still in hand he poked at Tazze's arm, waiting for her to wake up.

Her eyes flickered open and she looked at him drowsily, questioning his motives.

"Lunch." was all he said as he turned his stick upon Malikos quiet form. He prodded her gently below her ribs and it wasn't long before her shoulders started to shake. She slowly hoisted herself from her side to her hands and knees. Gaara heard her growl and he was shocked when she lunged at him.

Gaara was pushed to the ground while Maliko straddled his hips and wrapped her hands around his neck.

"Gaara you bastard!! That tickled!" she screamed with a furious face and a feral glare. He reached his hands up to grasp her wrists and remove her fingers from his throat. With much effort he was able to pull her away while she resumed her growling, still trying to strangle him but being unable to as he restrained her.

Meanwhile Tazze had crawled over towards Itachi and seated herself beside him, watching him skin a hare.. She heard Itachi sigh lightly and she quirked her head to the side.

"Want any help with that?" she asked reaching for another hare, but his voice made her hesitate.

"No thanks.." he replied, with his usual secluded demeanor. She raised an eyebrow at him but he kept his eyes on the hare in front of him. Tazze could still hear Maliko and Gaara bickering in the back of the cave, as well as many scuffles against the ground from Maliko trying to strangle Gaara. The redhead could easily overpower her but she was putting up quite the fight. Maybe Gaara would take note not to prod her awake with a stick.

Tazze got back to the matter at hand. She reached into her pack and whipped out a kunai and quickly grabbed up a hare before Itachi could object.

"I told you, you don't have to help-"

"You need to lighten up!" She yelled, getting angry with his stubborn and cold attitude. Itachi stopped skinning the hare to stare at Tazze who was now prepping her hare for skinning with a scowl on her face. He was totally speechless. No one had ever yelled at him (unless they were stupid) or interrupted him like she had.

She faltered as she noticed him staring at her. Shooting her gaze up she looked into his red eyes and immediately felt the intimidation in them. Her gaze shot back down. Obviously her sudden outburst was a fluke and she quickly began fidgeting with the hare on her lap.

"Sorry.." It was very softly spoken, but when he said it, he had a hint of repentance traced in his voice. It didn't matter to her. She still took the apology to heart and hoped he would stop being so secluded from her and everyone else. After all, Maliko and Gaara seemed to be getting along fine. She looked towards the said two to see Gaara now on top of Maliko as she tried to reach for the stick he had held before, probably to stab him with it, but Tazze and Itachi didn't seem to converse much and often sat with each other in silence. She was too hesitant to speak most of the time and he was just too much of a loner type of person.

She often felt disappointed in herself because she wasn't able to stand up to people like her sister, and she felt that if she could try hard to change herself for the better, then maybe Itachi should too.

The hares had now been placed over the fire and after much struggling with Maliko, Tazze was able to pulled her away from Gaara and settle her down. She still shot poison glares towards the red haired man though, and every so often eyed the stick at the end of the cave.

After they had all eaten to their hearts content, Itachi began to explain what they were going to do as their next plan of action.

"Okay.. We have to go up to the village to gather scrolls sometime or other and I would rather it be sooner than later-"

"But why do we have to take the scrolls out?! They aren't the Akatsuki's, so there's no reason why they should have them." interrupted Maliko unable to keep her rage in check. Itachi eyed her carefully and tried to figure out a way to make her cooperate with the mission.

"What use are they just sitting in the uninhabited village? No one else has made claims on them, so why shouldn't the Akatsuki... There's probably not any worthwhile scrolls anyways." He replied, still managing to keep his cold demeanor. Glancing over to Gaara, he noticed that the red haired man wasn't even paying attention. Typical. Once Maliko gets angry, Gaara steps off looking like the innocent one.

"They will be of use when I make the village into what it used to be. Plus, those scrolls belonged to my mother and no one else but her have any right to meddle with her bloodline informat-"

"You possess another bloodline limit?" This was news to him and he noticed Gaara perked up at that too. Not only did they possess containers of the Hyuuga bloodline, but now they had something much more. His eyes bore into hers and he gave her a stern, questioning look. Her gaze quickly faltered as she looked over to her tense sister and then down to the floor.

"N-no.."

"Don't lie. You already gave yourself away. Now tell me about this bloodline." demanded Itachi. Her head shot up and she gave him probably the evilest glare on earth. Itachi remained apathetic to her anger and kept his stern face.

The orange haired girl began to yell.

"You have no right to kno-"

"And you think you are in any position to defy my orders? Although you possess two bloodline limits, I know for a fact that you don't stand a chance against me... or Gaara for that matter."

Maliko stayed still for a while, seemingly watching something on the ground. Without any notice, she rose to her feet, grabbed up her pack and stomped her way out of the cave. A moment after she disappeared to the other side of the fall, Tazze shot up and started at a run after her sister. Her attempt failed as a hand encircled her ankle and caused her to fumbled and drop back down to the ground. She turned to face a very annoyed Itachi.

"You stay here. I'm going to have a talk with you." Itachi stated, emphasizing his words so she would know he was serious. He then got up and motioned to Gaara to come with him outside the cave. When they were out of earshot of the brunette, Itachi swiftly told Gaara what needed to be done.

"Go catch her and persuade her into telling you what the bloodline limit does. I'm going to try and get it out of Tazze here."

Gaara nodded and made his way into the trees, avoiding his traps. Hopefully Maliko got caught in one of them and slowed herself down. Gaara hadn't laid down many traps that could kill, but more traps that could capture. What information could you get out of a dead person anyways? Even though he liked dead people better.

It didn't take Gaara long to sense her chakra and he soon found her struggling with a binding around her ankle. Apparently she couldn't avoid all of his traps.

After Itachi watched Gaara disappear into the lush growth of trees, he continued along his way back into the caves and over to Tazze who currently had her head lowered and her fingers tracing designs in the dust on the rocks. He stopped to stand beside her, towering over her sitting form.

"Do you want to tell me what this bloodline is that you possess?" he asked calmly, although it sounded more like an order other than a request. It was silent for a moment before her head snapped up, fury obviously etched in her features. She did not yell, but she sure wasn't quiet.

"I don't possess the bloodline so it's not for me to tell. The only one left that possesses it is Maliko and if she so chooses to tell you then so be it, but it isn't my place to tell you or anyone about it, no matter what the circumstances, so I won't." There was no hesitation in her voice and the loudness of her speech now bounced off the walls, creating a soft hum. It was probably the most Itachi had ever heard her speak and he was quite shocked at her sternness with him.

He just watched. Watched as she unclenched her fists. Watched as her shoulders shook slightly from rage and watched as she watched him, staring deep into his crimson eyes with.. what was it.. hatred?

Was she jealous of her sisters achievements?

A/N KYAHHH! Sorry for it being soo0o0o0 late! I just got so lazy and such and you know.. well you probably don't but it was late and i'm sorry.

On another note, the imfamous chris had reviewed again, giving me quite the essays.. which i rather loved to read. Thank you chris. And thanks for being honest about the good and bad portions of the story. Its helpful, and yes!! i shall get to ur request of getting things moving.. i rather think its getting slow too.. but kyah! I'll try to update sooN!

Abayo

Malitia


	23. Barakkugan Unsealed

A/N.... Wow i had this many (makes large O with hands) motivation for this chapter... like... wow. I didn't start it til two days after i posted 22... which is weird. Anyways i'm getting quite angry with this.

**NOTE:** I never really made a lot of description notifications on the girls... and i kinda just.. expected everyone to look at the pics in my deviant art account.. but i know some of you might not've i suggest you do.. cus Maliko has some... "trait" you might say.. i don't wanna give it away but.. kya!! just go look mainly at the one where shes wearing an Akatsuki cloak cus ... thats really one of the only ones i put the trait on.. o and the picture of the whole family.. Tazze, the Zetsumeikage, and Maliko.. i'll make notifications to the trait in this chap tho.. even tho its kinda late in the story. GOMEN!!

kya... now that thats done .. read on!

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Chapter 23 – Barakkugan Unsealed.

Gaara watched as Maliko struggled furiously with the rope around her ankle, yanking her foot back while trying to keep ahold of her pack. Becoming impatient, she threw her pack to the floor and bent down, quickly shooting her right arm to her left leg to undo the rope. Big mistake. As her hand shot down, she didn't notice the wire that her fingers hit. Seemingly out of no where another rope shot out and tightened around her one wrist and pulled her back up into a standing position. With one leg bound, and one arm bound, she found herself to be in quite the predicament.

Gaara chose this time to emerge from his looking spot. He walked towards her with a passive face and his arms crossed across his chest. When Maliko noticed him, she became enraged once again.

"Gaara! Untie me now!" she yelled not bothering to keep her cool. He stared at her with the same calm expression, listening to her growl as she flicked her head to the side, trying to get her red bangs away from her eyes.

"Tell me about this other bloodline and then i'll untie you." He replied smoothly, while letting his eyes wander over her, taking in every detail that the limited sun provided. Starting from her short vibrant orange hair and red bangs, down to her white eyes, the left one with the black slash marking running horizontal over it, and then stopping on the little bit of neck that was exposed from the collar of her robe.

"I don't have to tell you anything!" she growled, defiantly glaring in his direction, watching as his eyes scrutinized her.

"And I don't necessarily need to untie you" Her face scrunched with more anger as she reached her left arm up, reaching for the rope that bound her wrist. She tried with all her might to try and undo the knot with one hand but found it to be more harder than she thought. Gaara patiently waited for her to stop fighting, which didn't take long. She soon became tired. She sighed and dropped her tense composure, hanging loosely against the bounds.

"Are you done now?" he asked, unfolding his arms and stepping closer to her.

She dropped her eyes and nodded. Her fingers were beginning to become numb and her shoulder hurt like hell. Gaara strode over and reached up, his chest pressed against hers, and began to untie the rope that bound her right hand. She noticed that he smelt like mist, probably from the waterfall but she didn't care. She liked the smell either way. It smelt like home.

As soon as her hand was free she planned to untie her foot, but was caught short as both of his strong hands clasped around her wrists. She noticed he still stood eerily close. Gaara looked down into her questioning eyes and sent her a silent warning. Still holding on to her he ordered.

"Tell me about the other bloodline now." She sighed. Despite how much she didn't want it known, she also knew she couldn't deny Gaara of his wishes. He was overwhelming and intimidating, standing so close to her and staring down at her as he stood a foot taller.

"Its called Barakkugan..." she started and looked up to see him quirk what would be an eyebrow if he had one.

"Sounds like a rip off of the Byakugan." He wondered if this was her lame excuse for trying to fool him.

"It's because it derives from Byakugan. While the Byakugan can see the inner coil system and attack it with normal chakra, the Barakkugan can see not only the inner coil systems but the actual veins and organs... even the blood vessels. The black chakra that comes from the bloodline can be targeted to any of which and completely destroy it, unlike Byakugan which merely puts strain on the inner coil system occasionally hurting the surrounding organs."

She sighed.. She was revealing so much and she didn't like it.

"So why don't you use it when you're in trouble. I've never once seen any noticeable traits." he asked, still skeptical about the whole concept. It still sounded too much like a rip off of the Byakugan.

"Well..." she hesitated. "The Byakugan is much better for defense, seeing as I can see in the range of almost 360 degrees. The Barakkugan can only see in the same range as normal eyes, and only the left eye can be activated. The family that holds the Barakkugan is largely occupied by assassins... meaning that Barakkugan holds no defense and is used for silent killing. When I fight with someone, theres a very low chance that I would need no defense.. so therefore I use Byakugan."

Gaara tightened his grip around her wrists and furrowed his brow.

"Activate it.." he ordered staring intently at her left eye. His gaze being drawn along the black marking on it.

"You have to let go of my wrists for me to do that."

"Why?" he asked, skeptical of what would happen if he released her wrists. If she was telling the truth about the Barakkugan's attack strength, it wouldn't do good to be hit by the black chakra.

"I need to unseal it. I does not simply activate." she stated, as if it were perfectly normal.

"You have to unseal the bloodline? That sounds like a bunch of bullshit. Why would you have to unseal it?"

Maliko sighed impatiently. She knew he wouldn't believe it. "If there were no seal on it, then it would always be activated, somewhat like how Itachi keeps his eyes. But it tends to consume a lot more chakra, and its a waste for it to do that because it doesn't show me if someones coming from behind me or going to attack suddenly like the Byakugan, its simply there for attacking." She hated having to repeat herself.

Gaara kept his eyes locked on hers and ordered. "Unseal it then and don't do anything stupid." She rolled her eyes as she felt his strong grip leave her bruising wrists.

Bringing her right hand to her face, she placed each of her fingers (excluding her thumb) in a equal span underneath her left eye. She closed her eyes and pumped chakra to each one of those fingers. She said in a hushed voice, "Unseal!"

Gaara who was still watching her intently, saw the black scar like marking fade and as she took her fingers away from underneath her closed eye. Where her fingers had been there now were circles. Smallest was closest to the bridge of her nose and they got bigger as they went left, stopping a little ways from the corner of her eye.

Gaara waited impatiently asking himself ' Is that it?'. As if on cue, Maliko's eyes flickered open and Gaara gasped inwardly. Where her left eye used to be a pure white, there was now pitch dark, black as death. She now had a pupil, but it was not like any other pupil. Her pupil was white against the black, causing a brilliant contrast. He looked to her right eye and noticed that it was still the same, Byakugan white.

Her face became angry and Gaara took a step back. "Are you happy now! Are you gonna use me for your own greater purposes just because I have something a bit more powerful!" she yelled. She ran her pointer finger down from her forehead over her eye to her cheek and hurriedly said "Seal!"

Maliko abruptly bent down and started tearing at the rope around her ankle. Now that she had sealed her eye Gaara was more willing to take a step closer to her. He bent down infront of her and placed his hand gently on her forearm. Her head shot up to look at him shocked. He was surprised to see tears in her eyes. Never in their time together had he ever seen her cry.

Gaara brought his other hand up to her cheek and wiped her tears away with his thumb. Despite this caring action he still kept his stoic demeanor.

"We don't plan to use you for greater purposes." He muttered, his brow furrowed. He was quite angry at himself that he had made her so hysterical. Despite how he loved the way people would cry, while begging him for mercy on their life, he did not like seeing her cry, the one he had sworn to protect. Playful torture was one thing, but he felt the hurt when people had fooled with his emotions before and he didn't wish that upon her.

"Our goal now is for you two to join forces with us, as a four man team. You are not our tools." she made to open her mouth but he answered her question quickly before she could start ranting. "I know you don't want to become part of the Akatsuki. We are planning to leave it and silently slip out of their grasp with you two."

Bringing his other hand up he traced the black seal over her left eye with his index finger. "You can keep this sealed as long as you want.. Its just a good thing to know about it seeing as i'm your partner." She blushed at all the contact he was giving her. Albeit it wasn't much, she still liked it.

Without thinking, she quickly leaned forward and pressed her lips to his. He was shocked for a moment, but she soon felt him react to the kiss as his hands made their way to the back of her neck and further deepened the kiss.

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A/N wow.. that was hard.. at first i didn't even know what the bloodline would do. And don't lecture me on how Barakkugan is a cheap ripoff of Byakugan. Ya they sound the same but like all the eye bloodlines it names the eyes traits.

Byakugan – White eye

Barakkugan – Black eye

Sharingan – Wheel eye

You get my drift.. its just that they look like their spelt the same... che. Anyways hope you liked the chap.. it was hella hard.. sorry for the late update and abayo!

Malitia


	24. How Fortunate

A/N..... i have to hand it to Kuro ---- always reviews.. i'm happy for that! it brightens my day.

**This chapter is dedicated to xkuroxshinobix for being the best reviewer evar!!**

Feel the burn! ---- i got so much lack of motivation after that chapter. But you know what!!! i'm doing this for me! Terri! And Kuro! So Boo-Urns to all of you non reviewers!!

To **Ryuusa**: I'm glad you voiced your opinions about it. I truly don't think its going that well either. I'm having such a problem of figuring out how to get to the very main part of the plot and its troublesome. I'm sorry that the plot is getting stupid right now, but i'm trying. Also about the characters being ..not in character... people change over time.. if you noticed, i kept them in character in the beginning and then they changed over the chapters.. people have different effects on others and sometimes people change. And if you think its waaaaaaaay too far fetched how their out of character.. please tell me, how do they seem out of character and maybe i can change it up. As for the girls... how do we know whats out of character for them.. their OC's --- the only person that really knows whats out of character for them is me and Terri.. thats just how they are i guess. And i personally think Tazze has no "amazing skills" albeit her byakugan.. other than that,. Shes weak. And for Maliko, the Barakkugan is a main bloodline of Zetsumeigakure, why wouldn't i have at least one of the main survivors with the bloodline, I don't want things it to die out. If you think thats "mary sue" then i'm sorry, its again.. just how she it.

Thanks for the review and your opinion, i'll try to sort everything out.

**(sobs in corner)**

**read on!

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Chapter 24 – How Fortunate

Gaara parted from Maliko and it was easily seen, the disappointment on her face. She had enjoyed the warmth of him being so close to her. Gaara took pleasure in seeing her pout forming on the soft lips he had just ravaged, glad that he was the cause of her sudden mood change. Shes been too unpredictable these days.

He sighed and reached for the rope that still entwined around her ankle.

"We should get back. Itachi will start to doubt my abilities if he thinks i'm taking this long to catch a hot-headed girl-"

"Woman.."

"Whatever.." He stood back up after releasing her from the binds and picked up her pack from the ground. They decided to walk back to the falls instead of run. Right then seemed to call for leisure.

Side by side they walked in silence, Maliko slightly blushing, remembering their earlier actions. His kiss was so dominating and although she had kissed him hungrily, he remained in control, leading every next movement with a graceful flick of his tongue.

Licking her lips, she thought back to her sister. She felt rather guilty now, how she had left her at the falls so abruptly seemed unfair. Especially because she had left her with that bastard Itachi. How dare he try to order her around. He was probably doing the same to Tazze right now.

"Gaara?"

"Hm.."

"If we're going to be leaving the Akatsuki, then why do we have to take my mother's scrolls to the council?" she asked, still hung up on that one detail.

"Who knows. Now that Itachi knows that you two have another bloodline limit, he'll probably want to see the scrolls for himself and see what it's all about."

"Only one."

"What?" He stopped walking, looking confused. Only one what? What was she talking about.

Maliko turned to him and opened up the pack that he carried. Out of it she grabbed a piece of paper. When she turned it around Gaara found it to be a photograph of three people. One undeniably Maliko with short hair, wearing a black kimono with the death kanji embroidered on the blue obi. She looked to have a different attitude than now. She stood straight, looking well behaved and responsible, despite that she looked around seven or eight years old.

Beside Maliko was an older woman, probably in her mid-twenties. She looked remarkably like Maliko, despite her hair was fully orange and long and she had green eyes instead of white. Behind her back were the two katanas and staff that had later been passed on to Tazze and Maliko. Her left eye had the same black, scar like seal running down it, identical to the little Maliko that stood beside her.

Beside the person who Gaara already knew was the Zetsumeikage stood a bubbly Tazze, wearing a long blue shirt that came to her knees and black pants. Her smile was one that he had never seen before, so large and real, the brightness of it could rival the sun.

"Tell me Gaara.. What do you notice in this picture..." asked a sullen looking Maliko. How her mood could change so quick, Gaara would never know. He looked intently at the picture for some time until he finally noticed something.

"Tazze doesn't have the seal over her left eye" he proclaimed. Her left eye held no marking, just the pure milky skin. He looked at Maliko questioningly.

"Why doesn't she have the seal, while you and the Zetsumeikage do?" he asked.

Maliko sighed and looked to the trees that loomed overhead. "Unlike Mother and I, Tazze never received the bloodline trait. So little do I voice this, but .. Tazze was too weak to gain it. Her skill is below average and the Barakkugan needs a strong host." removing her gaze from the forest ceiling, she looked back to Gaara.

"I don't activate my Barakkugan and I don't speak about it around Tazze. She hates the fact that shes weaker than me and the eye only proves it to her more."

* * *

"Why do you not possess it when your sister does?" Itachi asked, gazing down at Tazze on the ground. She faced the fire with her knees tucked under chin, seemingly staring into nothingness.

"I'm weak...." It was blunt but she spoke it like it was the truest thing in the world. Itachi watched as all her self confidence disappeared with the content of the conversation.

"So if you think you're so weak, why don't you train harder to become stronger? What good is it if you just mope about it and do nothing to best in other abilities." A look of hurt flickered across her downcast eyes. She realized he was right about that. She had never really tried to become better in everything else, and for that she had remained average, no better than a rookie chuunin.

"I want to be someone Mother is proud of."

"Why not be someone your father is proud of? Maliko has already achieved at the Zetsumeikage's bloodline, so why don't you train to be better at the Byakugan's limits."

Determination spread across her features and she looked up into his red eyes.

"You're right. There's no use trying to better something that I don't have. I'll become the greatest Byakugan user ever, and i'll achieve that by any means!" She shot her fist in the air, totally ruining the moment, making it seem like a joke. Tazze was so clueless...

Itachi rolled his eyes and figured he'd try to catch her off guard.

"Thats great.. so... tell me about the other bloodline-"

"No."

'Damn, I hope Gaara's having better luck than me..' Itachi thought to himself.

As if he heard his name in Itachi's head, Gaara appeared at the opening of the cave with a much happier Maliko behind him. Gaara looked quite pleased also which was...well... odd. Itachi thought Gaara might've killed someone but that wouldn't make sense. Maliko wouldn't be looking so bouncy if he did kill someone. What was up with those two..

Gaara tugged Maliko along into the cave and pushed her in front of Itachi. Itachi looked at her questioningly while she looked to the floor with a stubborn looking pout formed on her face. He heard Gaara 'hmph' behind her and watched as he gave her a nudge. She sighed and looked up to Itachi and began to speak.

"It's called Barakkugan...." she huffed out. His eyebrows slightly rose in interest and he heard Tazze gasp behind him. She told Itachi about the bloodline in full detail and Itachi was thoroughly pleased, even though he didn't show it.

By the time Itachi was done with his questions about the Barakkugan, he decided they would take a venture up to the village on top of the cliff that the waterfall fell from.

"We're going to go up to Zetsumei to check things out and maybe gather some supplies. Is that okay with everyone?" Itachi asked.

"No." replied a stoic Maliko.

"Too bad."

Itachi watched as she stuck out her tongue at him and rose to her feet and grabbing her staff. Tazze latched her katanas to her sides and Gaara situated the large gourd filled with sand on his back. Everyone was ready to go and they wasted no time in getting out of the cave and on their way.

Climbing up the cliff proved to be quite tedious as the rocks were slippery with the drizzle that came from the falls, but with everyone helping eachother out, they were able to make it up in good time.

Maliko and Tazze looked in wonder at the walls surrounding their home village, black roses and the greenest of vines crept up and around the towering stone, a sure sign they were at Zetsumeigakure.

Just as the four had taken a few steps towards the gates, they all stopped upon hearing a faint shifting of dirt.

"Byakugan" Tazze whispered and chakra immediately puffed to her eyes.

Her brow furrowed in confusion after a few seconds of looking around.

"What the-.. Get down!" Yelled the brunette, dropping to the ground fast as light, with Itachi not far behind her. Gaara followed suit, not too lightly pulling Maliko down with him.

Immediately after Maliko hit the ground, dozens of kunai shot overhead, barely missing their backs and occasionally tearing some cloth. The rain of sharp objects stopped not long after and they all hesitantly rose to their feet, looking around for anymore signs of danger.

"What the hell was that-"

"What are you doing in my village!" A demanding yell interrupted Maliko. "Leave now or i'll kill you all!" It was a girls voice and although it was feminine, it was intimidating.

Itachi merely chuckled, finding it funny that anyone would even want to challenge him.... much less a girl.

"You've got a lot of nerve saying this is your village! Come out so I can kill you!" Yelled Maliko. Gaara watched as she clenched and unclenched her left fist while gripping tightly to her staff at her side.

Out of the shadows that emitted from the large, vine covered walls there came an angry looking girl, much the same age and height as Maliko and Tazze, with short brunette braids behind her ears and stopping at her shoulders. Her eyes were an endless black, the same color as the body suit she wore, and around her waist was tied a grey cloth with the Zetsumei forehead protector on it.

Maliko and Tazze's eyes shot to the weapon that the girl held at her side. A long black staff with a familiar black katana blade at the end.

The twins stammered in unison

"A-Aysen?!"

* * *

A/N ahem.. i blame it on the schoolwork. And the lack of reviews.. three reviews!!! wow.. i'm hurt.. really! Anyways i hope you like the new chap! Its jumping into the plot now... s0.. yay!? I'll try to update as soon as I can, and thanks for the three people that reviewed for this chapter! You made my day!

Abayo

Malitia


	25. Aysen!

A/n!! Kya!!! such encouragement for last chapter!! Lecherous children for all you wonderful reviewers!!! AH!!! i really don't know whats happening in this chapter, i just knew that I wanted to bring Aysen in.. cus she was such a cool char!

Terri got mad at me for not knowing tho.. she wanted me to tell her what happened and of course, i couldn't tell her cus i didn't know.. keh hee hee!

Anyways.. yay thanks for all who reviewed! O ya.. and theres a pic of Aysen in my Gallery at deviantart or my homepage in my profile... gogoogo

Read on!

* * *

Chapter 25 – Aysen

"A-Aysen!?"

The girl with the shadows at her back seemed shocked. So little did she meet with people and socialize, so how would some random nins know her name?

"W-who are you?! And why do you both know my name!?" she asked hesitantly, while taking a fighting stance, ready for any uncertainties.

"You _are_ Aysen?!" yelled Maliko ecstatic that that was actually the girls name. The girl named Aysen didn't seem to have a clue and Tazze just stared, utterly speechless.

"Ahem... Who's Aysen?" asked Gaara, getting fed up with all the stalled time.

"Aysen was our friend that we used to play at the Falls with. She was on our team when we were nine, when we first became genins." Itachi and Gaara both looked at the Death nin and watched as her jaw dropped at hearing these words spoken from Tazze.

"W-Wait! You're trying to tell me that you're Maliko and Tazze?" Her eyes were wide as she looked over the two girls standing three meters from her. She became hysterical. "That's impossible! They were both killed! You both are imposters!" Aysen yelled.

She gripped onto her katana tipped staff and charged at Maliko.

"I'll kill you!"

Just as she was about to plunge the katana into Maliko's throat an arm slipped around her neck and one around her waste, holding her tightly. The twins both sighed with relief, the katana was eerily close to Maliko's collarbone.

"Why don't you give them a chance to explain?" growled a deep voice in Aysen's ear. She shuddered at the fact that she was caught so off guard. "Drop the staff and I'll let you go."

Aysen sighed and dropped the staff. As soon as the clink of the katana and wood hit the ground, she felt an odd, gripping feeling around her ankles, while the strong arms left her body. She shot her head down to see sand curling up to her knees. Panicking, she quickly went to pick up her weapon that she had dropped beside her, but found it to be gone. Darting her eyes around, she found her weapon in the hands of the man that had restrained her seconds before. His light green eyes glaring back at her black ones.

Becoming angry, she shot a glare at the two girls claiming to be Maliko and Tazze.

"If you're Maliko and Tazze, then why aren't you dead along with everyone else." She yelled and watched as the twin girl's eyes became sad.

"We were the ones the Akatsuki wanted when they came here. They killed everyone but us-"

"A lie anyone could tell!" the furious girl snapped, interrupting Maliko. She became silent for a moment while contemplating something. Smirking, she ordered Maliko.

"If you really are Maliko, then show me your chakra. Charge it to your hand so I can see it." The hateful look never left her face, despite her smirking. Maliko sighed, and proceeded to charge chakra to her left palm. As soon as the chakra became visible, Aysen gasped, covering her mouth with her hands.

"I-It's black!... You really are Maliko!"

"Hai" Maliko responded, and began walking towards Aysen. When Maliko came close, Aysen did not flinch but embraced the orange haired girl in a fierce hug while tears of joy rolled down her cheeks.

"I've been so lonely! I thought everyone was killed!" she exclaimed through sobs. Noticing the sand was gone from around her ankles she turned to Tazze and motioned her over. Tazze obliged and Aysen quickly wrapped her arms around her too.

Gaara looked to Itachi, wondering what the hell to do now, but Itachi showed no notice. He seemed apathetic to the whole situation and simply watched the girls with a stoic expression.

Maliko pulled away from Aysen and held a serious look. "I'm glad you're alive but, why aren't you dead?" Gaara could've laughed at her bluntness if he was a person that would laugh. He wasn't, so he didn't.

"When those people came and attacked, Grandfather concealed himself and me in the cellar. We stayed there for the day and that night and when we came out the next morning, there was nothing but bodies...." Aysen no longer cried tears of joy, but tears of sorrow. "I-I tried looking for you two, but only found your mother. I also found my sisters in the street.. with holes through their chest..." She stopped talking to wipe her tears with her sleeves.

"I swore I would take revenge on the Akatsuki, but only Grandfather had seen them.... and he never told me who they were, in fear that I would fight and lose my life." Maliko saw the anger on her tear streaked face and tensely looked back at Itachi and Gaara. Laughing hesitantly she stated.

"Hehe.. We.. We never seen them either." She scratched the back of her head, smiling sheepishly.

"It's a shame... Well, why don't you and your men come into the village then. There's plenty of shelter since.. i'm the only one living here, so you can all stay for as long as you want!"

'Our men?' Maliko and Tazze thought looking back at the two, rather annoyed looking Akatsuki members behind them. Aysen already began walking through the gates and waved to them, motioning them inside.

"What does she mean by 'Your me-" Gaara's yelling was cut off as Maliko slapped her hand over his mouth, stifling the noise.

"Gaara! Don't anger her, I don't know what she's like now, but before she used to have a temper worse than yours. Plus, let her think what she wants. I don't want her knowing that you're both Akatsuki members. She'll think me and Tazze betrayed the village." The orange haired girl whispered to him, making sure Itachi heard also. Gaara merely growled and rolled his eyes, which Maliko took for an understanding.

With that, Maliko and Tazze latched arms with 'their men' and began following Aysen into their home village.

* * *

The village looked just as it did when the girls had left it eight years ago. The Zetsumeikage Tower was visible as soon as you entered the gates, standing high above all the other buildings from its location in the center of the small village.

Aysen stopped and turned to them as soon as they had entered the village.

"Over the eight years i've been here, i've been cleaning up from the destruction. Your house will be in the same condition as it was before the Akatsuki attacked, so if you want, you could stay there. I have to guard the village walls for the nights because thats when people seem to like to come here, so i'll talk to you in the morning."

"People come here?" asked Tazze, shocked that people came to a deserted village.

Aysen laughed at her innocence and cluelessness. "They aren't tourists Tazze. They come here thinking they can loot our village. I kill all who pose a threat."

"Oh..." Tazze was glad Zetsumeigakure was in such reliable hands. She smiled to the village's guardian and nodded, turning around to make her way to her old house, along with Maliko, Itachi and Gaara.

"See you tomorrow then!" Maliko yelled, waving to the retreating girl. Aysen waved back and then jumped to the top of the wall to resume her post.

"Well, we might as well sleep in beds tonight instead of the cave floor. Lets go." proclaimed Itachi, motioning the girls to lead them to the house.

* * *

A/N its gay and short, but I have to work and my cousin is coming down and such so .... maybe i'll try to make the next chapter more interesting but i probably won't have it up til the end of the week..but maybe if i get lots of reviews i'll get excited and do another chapter!!.. Thanks you for all the reviews for last chapter! I got more than I expected! Seven reveiws! W00 you guys rock!

Abayo

Malitia


	26. Home Of the Death Children

A/N ahem... sorry for being so late? I didn't get to this fic till like 4 days after i posted the other..which is sad.. so i'll just get on with it.... read on!

* * *

Chapter 26 – Home of the Death Children

Although Maliko and Tazze had not been in the village for eight years., they were still able to navigate perfectly to their old home. They headed towards the Zetsumeikage tower in the center of the village, the bright light of the moon showing them the way. Despite how much Gaara hated people, he found it quite eerie that there was absolutely no one here. No lights flickered in the buildings, and no one roamed the street but the four companions.

Maliko and Tazze stopped very abruptly, almost causing Itachi to run into Tazze's back before he stopped himself. Gaara on the other hand walked right into Maliko and making her stumble a bit before Gaara reached out and caught her, stabilizing her on her feet.

"What was that for!" yelled the orange haired girl as she pushed Gaara away.

"You're the one who stopped so suddenly." Gaara retorted, keeping his cool a bit better than Maliko.

"I stopped because we're here. And I didn't stop 'suddenly'.. you're just blind and clumsy." Maliko laughed inwardly as Gaara's eye twitched. She loved annoying him.

"Oi, you two stop." Itachi's stern voice cut in. "Let's get as much rest as we can and continue with what we need to do in the morning." Tazze nodded along.

"....Hai, hai." huffed Maliko showing as much exasperation as humanly possible. Leading the way into the small one story building, Maliko was thoroughly surprised that Aysen wasn't lying. Their home was exactly the same as it was that day.

An old doll of Tazze's was stationed on the couch beside Maliko's old toy sickle and chain. The twins small child sized cloaks hung off of hooks on the walls in between two doors. One leading to Maliko's and Tazze's room, and the other to their mother's.

No one said anything for a long time while Tazze and Maliko surveyed all of the old memories.

Tazze unconsciously grazed passed Itachi and Gaara and headed toward four photo frames situated on a table. One of a smiling woman with long vibrant orange hair and bright turquoise eyes with a black line marking over the left one. This picture wasn't taken long before the Zetsumeikage's demise, but Tazze was glad her mother was so happy in her last days.

On the right of her mother's picture there was a picture of her father. He wore no smile on his face, but one could easily see that there was happiness in his white eyes. His Konoha headband was placed on his forehead, hiding the seal and his long dark hair ran down past his shoulders, tied in the back. The picture was taken before Rychii had run from the Main House.

Some people might have thought Rychii's decision to come to the Zetsumeikage in his time of need was totally random. It wasn't though. Every chance their mother had, she would tell her daughters about how Rychii and herself had became friends a long time ago and the fun they had with the little time they would see each other.

Beside Rychii's picture was a very similar looking girl, Tazze of course, with her long dark hair and shining white eyes. A smile was plastered on the chubby face that could rival her mothers.

On the left of the Zetsumeikage's picture was an eight year old Maliko, looking identical to her mother, despite her short hair and arrogant look. Albeit Maliko looked a lot like her mother, her personality and maturity was much like Rychii's back then. After the Akatsuki Terror though, Maliko had become less mature and more like a raging, cocky, and stubborn female... Leaving Tazze to become the more mature sibling.

Tazze was taken from her stupor as a hand was placed on her shoulder. Tearing her gaze from the family of pictures, she turned her head to look at Maliko. Although Tazze was somewhat depressed, missing the old days, Maliko wore a huge smile, just happy enough that she could be in her old home and be where she was today. Maliko's cheeriness was enough to make Tazze a little bit more happy.

"I know you would love to look forever Tazze, but you should sleep. Me and you can sleep in Mother's room and i'll make some beds for Itachi and Gaara on the floor out here. Go on and i'll come in after i'm done." Tazze nodded and started walking towards the master bedroom.

Gaara meanwhile only just processed what Maliko had just said, and began to mutter reproachfully.

"You sure are an arrogant woman." he growled, side glancing a glare towards Maliko. "Why do you get a bed while we have to sleep on the floor?"

"Dogs do not sleep on beds." she said bluntly, trying to keep her laughter in check and keep a serious face. Itachi and Gaara simply stared, unable to believe her cockiness.

"..."

"..."

"If I were you, I wouldn't sleep tonight." muttered Gaara, giving Maliko a murderous glare, while she stuck out her tongue and ran off towards the room Tazze had not long disappeared into.

Sighing, Gaara sat down on the couch and watched Itachi find some blankets and pillows for himself. Despite how Maliko had said she would do it, she just said it to get a rise out of them.

Gaara lazily dropped to his back, and folded his arms behind his head for a pillow on the couch. Unexpectedly though, he was shoved to the floor. Looking up with a shocked face he watched Itachi calmly put the blankets on the couch and strip off his robe and shirt.

"What the hell! I was laying there!" yelled Gaara, pushing himself to stand next to the couch, which Itachi currently occupied now.

"Why do you care, its not like you sleep anyways." said Itachi while closing his eyes.

"....I still like to rest- .. Awe screw you." groaned Gaara, as he made his way to the door leading outside. "I'm going to check the village out.. I'll be back before dawn."

"Hm..." Itachi grunted, letting Gaara know that he heard him.

* * *

Morning came all too soon for the twins and when Gaara went around the house waking everyone up, it seemed that only Itachi got up without complaint. Gaara tried every method possible to get them out, from poring water on their faces to stealing all their blankets and pillows.

Tazze eventually got fed up with being cold and rose out of the bed, earning an annoyed glare from Gaara. Maliko, meanwhile, still layed, half asleep in the bed, curled up in a ball.

"Get up Maliko..." ordered Gaara, crossing his arms across his chest in an impatient manner.

"Mmm-no.. just 15 more minutes.." she replied groggily, snuggling into the mattress seeking warmth.

Gaara rolled his eyes and walked over to the bed. Without warning, Maliko felt a cold hand grip around her ankle and pull. She lazily clawed at the mattress, trying to keep herself on the bed, but her struggle was futile. There was a dull thump as she hit the wooden floor.

"Itai.." muttered Maliko, rubbing her sore side that she fell on. Grabbing a pillow from beside her, she hucked it as hard as she could at Gaara. With the reflexes of a ninja, he caught it easily and just as soon as he caught it, he chucked it right back at her. Despite how Gaara was wide awake and much more stealthy than her, she was sluggish and really.. not all that great with her reflexes in the first place. The pillow connected with her face and made her jolt back.

As she rubbed her face trying to get feeling back into it, she started giggling. She felt quite energetic for having just woken up.

Gaara walked over to the giggling girl on the floor and hauled her up by her wrists and proceeded to drag her out of the room.

"Cmon moron, we got things to do today.."

"heheheh Hai hai!"

* * *

A/N i didn't feel like spoiling yall haha.. i'm way to lazy to write more at the moment and i thought i better put something up before i start getting death threats... ---ya right..

so here it is.. review!! even tho its a lame little chapter and not worth much! Give me the motivation to do more!

Abayo

Malitia


	27. Search For the Elusive Scrolls

A/N: Eternal Annoyance - whee okie, so Melissa, I tried to make this "authentic"-like….and I hope it sounds good lol some parts may sound ooc, but meh, that's why ur the editor! Ahahaha

Malitia – Bah humbug! I'm so tired that i'm surprised i found the effort to edit this and add stuff in. Terri is our authoress for today! Yay!!! i always love these chapters! Anyways i can't keep you! Read on!

Disclaimer: obviously, we don't own naruto…

* * *

Chapter 27 – Search for the Elusive Scrolls!

Maliko walked out of old habit to the kitchen table, and plunked herself down on the chair. She folded her arms on the table, but before she could lower her head to rest on her arms, she froze. Her eyes held a look of realization, and slight shock. A disappointed look now was in her eyes and with a sigh, she rested her head on the table. For a moment there, she actually thought that her mother would come out and find her leaning on the table, and as habit had it, she would tell Maliko to keep herself busy. After all, the heir couldn't be some lazy and immature leader. She seemed more lenient with Tazze.

Maliko's little daydream was interrupted by Tazze bouncing into the room. She glanced up and saw the usual smile she had. Just seeing her sister happy again relieved her. She didn't want her sister to dwell on unhappy memories, and she was glad that Tazze could be easily cheered up.

"Aysen's here!" she said in a sing-song voice. Tazze hurried over to Maliko's side, and slid her arm around her sister's. Tugging her off her seat, she insisted, "Cmon Maliko! Now we have time to actually catch up with her."

Just as Maliko was getting up from her seat, the same annoying voice came. Gaara's. "There won't be any 'catching up'. We have scrolls to find. And until we find those scrolls, you won't be playing dollies with your old friend."

Maliko snickered inwardly, obviously laughing at something that only she was thinking. "Heh, why Gaara! Are you mad that we won't invite you to play?" she taunted him.

Gaara shot a glare her way, but Maliko still continued to laugh. Before he could say something snide in reply, Itachi came into the room. "Oi, that's enough. We need to find those scrolls, and quick. Unless, you guys intend to stay weak," Itachi shifted his gaze from Gaara to Maliko, as he said his last comment on she and Tazze being weak.

Almost immediately, the glee on Maliko's face vanished, and she just glared at Itachi. She wasn't at all hurt by the comment of being weak, she knew she had strength, but couldn't deny that wanted to become stronger. She was more concerned with how Tazze would take the comment. "Nobody said that we had to please you. Come on, Tazze, let's go."

Tazze stood there, dumbfounded and confused. She had no clue what they were talking about at the time. "But, Maliko, they are our caretakers," Tazze pointed out.

"Nani? I would never imagine a man controlling Maliko," a voice said from the other room. Aysen came sauntering into the kitchen, obviously wanting her rest after staying up all night. She leaned in the doorway, with a mischievous smirk on her face.

Maliko smirked looking towards Aysen. "Yah, that would certainly make your day, wouldn't it?" She laughed a bit, and Aysen smiled. Maliko laughed at the fact that Gaara was still irked by being referred to as "Maliko's man". "I'd dominate my man, any day," Maliko joked, knowing it would annoy Gaara. Sure enough it looked as though, he were about to protest, until Itachi shot his cold stare towards him.

"Only Tazze," Aysen mused aloud to herself. She looked towards Tazze just to see her reactions.

Tazze looked between Aysen and Maliko. Her lips pursed together as though she were pondering something. "I can manage on my own," she protested, "I don't need anybody."

Maliko laughed inwardly. "Yeah, you can Tazze. Yep," she rolled her eyes towards Aysen. "I'm just kidding, Tazze. I'll always be there for you, just like you'd be there for me. We're sisters, after all." She walked over to Tazze, and put an arm around her shoulders. Then leading her sister out of the kitchen, she continued to talk with Aysen, the topic of men already over.

Tazze smiled at her sister, and listened to their conversation, adding a comment in every now and then. She was glad to hear her sister saying that she will always be there for her, but she could not overlook the fact that maybe, just maybe, Maliko saw her as being weak. In fact, there was no maybe, Tazze was weak. Moreover, she did not want to be thought of not being able to function without her sister, Maliko, to be there for her all the time.

"Well, I need to have my sleep, too," Aysen finally said. "But I'll talk to you guys later, we'll have supper together." With that, Aysen once again took her leave. They were now outside, she and Maliko. The sound of the shojo door sliding open announced Itachi and Gaara's arrival.

Maliko twirled around, and glared at Gaara. Gaara just rose a brow, not aware of what was getting on Maliko's nerves. Just then, Maliko started giggling. With a sigh, she tapped Tazze's shoulder. "Come on, let's go look for the scrolls." Just as she was about to pull Tazze away from the small porch, Tazze pulled back. Maliko was a bit taken aback by her actions. "What's wrong?"

Tazze just smiled. "If we split up, into two teams, it will be easier to find the scrolls."

Maliko looked at Tazze, "Uh, yah, that's why it's me and you, and those two guys."

"Moron," Gaara muttered to himself.

Before Itachi could point out the obvious flaw in her plans, Tazze spoke out first. "Maliko, wouldn't it make more sense for you to go with one of them…you know, have me on one team and you on the other, just for the sake of easier guiding through our village."

Maliko just looked at Tazze, as if saying, 'Aww, this was our chance to ditch these freaks.' But instead she, just looked at Gaara, and rolled her eyes. "Hai, it would make things go quicker," and with a shrug, just said, "We'll have more time to spend with Aysen."

Itachi stepped down the two steps of the porch, and stood there, as if wondering where they should begin. "Maliko goes with Gaara, and Tazze you go with me. We'll both take a different side of this village. Since this is your home village, it shouldn't take us too long to find the scrolls."

Maliko only groaned out of frustration, then looked towards Gaara. "Let's get this scroll search over with," with that Maliko walked out a bit, and waited for Gaara. Despite the annoyance in her voice, Tazze could tell that Maliko was planning something. No doubt she would rub this in Gaara's face, that she was in charge now, not that there was any real statement of who was the leading figure. Both were stubborn enough. Tazze smiled and shook her head, watching Maliko's arrogance slowly start establishing itself.

"Where should we search?" Itachi asked, breaking Tazze's train of thought. Apparently, they had both been watching Gaara and Maliko go out of sight; Itachi seeing them both as morons.

Tazze placed her finger over her lips, as if really thinking hard as to where they would be searching. Maliko had looked overly confident on her sense of direction and knowledge of where the scrolls were located. A urge rose in Tazze: she had to beat Maliko to those scrolls!

"We should…" she stopped and wondered for a moment.

"Go to the Zetsumakage Tower," Itachi finished, then he began to walk towards the tower in the center of the village.

Tazze looked surprised, then ran to catch up with Itachi. "Do those eyes make you psychic or something, 'cause I was honestly just thinking about that."

Itachi glanced down at Tazze beside him, and saw a big smile on her face. "Great minds think alike," he said in the same unemotional voice, as if trying to humour her idea.

A small chuckle left her lips, "Heh, my thoughts exactly!"

Itachi noticed her skipping every few steps or so, and the thought crossed his mind, that he might be moving too fast. As they walked towards the tower, Tazze was basically the only one really talking, and Itachi only replied to her questions.

Tazze was puzzled to find the tower doors unlocked. Even though the chance of finding the Barakugan and Byukugan scrolls in the scroll room were slim, other scrolls still were horded into a room somewhere inside, and they had to be protected. Some of those scrolls contained secrets to some jutsus only known to Zetsumagakure; and now that nobody was alive to carry on those jutsus, preserving the secrets on scrolls seemed of utmost importance, something left behind by the shinobi of Zetsumagakure.

Still she figured that maybe Aysen never thought of it as much of any concern, seeing as she was such a capable guardian. Both Itachi and Tazze entered the darkened tower.

"I'm not too sure where the room is exactly," Tazze admitted, as she headed down one hall.

Before she could even start down the hall, Itachi grabbed her wrist, and pulled her into him. Her back was to Itachi's chest, and just then she saw what Itachi had seen. There was a trap set up, a fine string she would have failed to notice. Plus, she would never have thought that there would be traps set up in the tower. It occurred to her that Aysen may have set up those traps, so that if somebody really did get into the tower, they would have been caught.

Having forgotten about Itachi for just a brief moment, Tazze suddenly became aware of the arm around her. She glanced down slowly at his arm around her waist, and the other on her collarbone. Tazze could feel her face getting warm, as blush slowly crept its way onto her cheeks. A small gasp escaped her lips, and she felt the air catch in her lungs. Itachi must have felt her tense slightly, because then he released his hold on her.

"Careful," he warned her. "We don't know what kind of traps your friend put up in here, and if we set them off, she'll know we were in here."

Tazze nodded in agreement, and followed Itachi as they went down another hall. They got to a staircase, and just as they were about to walk up to the next floor, Itachi paused. Tazze stood on her tiptoes to look past Itachi, attempting to see what had stopped him.

"More traps?" Tazze inquired in a whisper.

Itachi nodded. "Get on my back," he commanded Tazze. Tazze looked at Itachi, and before she could protest Itachi continued. "Look, it'll be easier to get to the scroll ro-"

"Wait," Tazze interrupted Itachi. "I can get to the top on my own. "

Itachi was surprised to find Tazze going against his orders. Up until now, she obeyed him without question. His surprise never showed though, and he was thankful. Somehow, he knew what brought on this new development in Tazze.

"Itachi?"

Itachi turned to face Tazze. He saw the determination in her white eyes, and he wasn't willing to let her down right then and there. Tazze gazed into this garnet eyes, trying to find some sign that he would let her go on her own. When she saw his eyes close momentarily, she knew that he had been giving some consideration to her request. If he was considering it, there was a chance that she would have her way. She reached out and grasped a small piece of his cloak in her hands, trying to persuade him, she gently tugged his cloak.

Itachi opened his eyes, and looked down at the white-eyed girl. "Come on, we have to find those scrolls," Tazze released his cloak, in anticipation that Itachi would not let her go on her own, simply because she almost set off the first trap. "Just keep an eye out for those traps."

With that he turned, and began to make his way slowly up the stairs. Tazze smiled, and followed after Itachi. It was not too difficult getting to the next floor. They continued to search on the second floor before heading up to the next floor. On the third floor, Tazze was quickly sifting through some closets, trying to locate the scrolls. There were none. Just before she closed the closet door, she spotted a scroll, one that she had failed to notice before.

"Itachi!" she called to him. "I found one!"

She snatched the scroll up and hurried over to the next room , where Itachi was searching. Itachi was careful as he stepped past a few boxes that were just lying around. "Is it the one we're looking for?"

Tazze hadn't thought about opening it up and reading it. "Well," she began to say as she walked over to Itachi, trying to step past the same boxes. "Looks like they were trying to move the office around before the attack."

As she was moving to reach out the scroll to him, Itachi suddenly warned her. "Wait, not there!"

Just as her foot was being set on the ground, she hit a fine string. She froze not sure what to expect. Itachi ran towards her. "Get down!" he commanded her.

Tazze moved to get out of the room, but only managed to trip over a box out of her slight panic. Just then heavy smoke, or some gas, was released into the room. Not sure what the gas was, Tazze was hurrying to get up and rush out of the room. Before she could, however, Itachi lunged for her, knocking her onto the floor. He landed on top of her with his arms around her, as if shielding her. Just as quickly, he unfastened his cloak, and flung it over the both of them, protecting them from the smoke as it slowly crept its way down to the floor.

"Stay low," Itachi told her. "The smoke's to trick you into getting up." As if reading the confusion on her face, he was about to answer, but the sound of kunai hitting the walls explained everything.

Tazze looked a bit disappointed and slightly hurt. Itachi could read her emotions easily, even if he couldn't see her eyes as clearly under the cloak. "Are you okay?" he asked.

"I'm sorry," she said in a low tone, without looking up at Itachi. But she could still see him with her Byakugan. She could feel her face growing warm with blush, from both embarrassment and the fact that Itachi was on top of her. It didn't bother her at the moment for she was too preoccupied with the fact that she could not avoid a trap that Itachi had seen so easily. She was supposed to be prepared, and she wasn't.

Her thoughts were diverted, when she felt the cool touch on her cheek. Suddenly, she began to blush out of control, when she realized that Itachi had brushed her hair away from her face. She slowly turned her head to look up at Itachi. There was a silence lingering between the two of them for a moment. "Heh, at least I found a scroll," Tazze said finally with a weak smile on her face. Itachi smirked upon hearing her lighten up, and also took some amusement in her cluelessness.

Tazze's smile vanished for a moment, as she looked at Itachi. Even under the darkness of the cloak, Tazze could feel Itachi's crimson eyes on her. The awkwardness of the situation just then dawned upon her. As if sensing her uneasiness, Itachi shifted to his side, getting off of Tazze, and propped himself up on his elbow. To accommodate for the shift in movement, Tazze also rolled onto her side, taking up less room under the Akatsuki cloak.

"Do you think we'll even find the scroll?" Tazze asked. She was beginning to doubt that the small scroll she found was indeed the scroll containing secrets about hers and her sister's bloodlines.

"It has to be somewhere in here," he simply replied.

Tazze brought the scroll up to her face, and started to unroll it. "If I had only read this before I came to you, then we wouldn't be in this situation. Do you think that its for the trap?"

Itachi thought for a moment. "Hai." He pulled the cloak off of him slowly, and looked up to the ceiling. The cloud of smoke still lingered, and he was not sure if it was poisonous or paralyzing, but the smell was foul. "We can get out of this room, but just to be sure, hold your breath, and keep your eyes closed." With that, he pulled the cloak off of him, but made sure Tazze was still covered. "Ready?"

Tazze nodded in response. Reaching over to her, Itachi pulled his cloak over her head. "Let's go," he said quickly, as he took her hand into his. Getting up and putting his arm around her, he quickly lead Tazze out to the hall. He was certain now that the smoke was some chemical. His eyes began to water only slightly, but it wasn't too long before they were out in the hall.

"Itachi?" Tazze could feel Itachi still holding onto her hand, except they weren't moving anymore.

She reached up and pushed the cloak back, letting it fall onto her shoulders. Concern was evident on her features, when she saw Itachi with his head to the side, and his eyes shut. She moved so she could see his face. Her fingers caressed his cheek, and traced along his jawline. Gently, she turned his head towards her. Itachi took her hand into his, and letting go of her other hand, he traced up along her arm, until his free hand was resting on her shoulder.

"Are you okay?" he asked her, as he opened his eyes slowly.

"Hai," Tazze answered him, trying to ignore the fact that she was blushing. "But what about you?"

"I'm fine," he blinked his eyes a few times before being able to see her clearly. "Do you have the scroll?"

Tazze looked down on the floor, to where the scroll now laid. "Oh yeah, I dropped it when I saw that you were kind of hurt…I never had a chance to really look at it…" She was beginning to feel ill at ease again, noticing that Itachi was once again looking at her. Taking her hand out of Itachi's, she went over to the scroll to pick it up.

Quickly, she skimmed over the scroll. She was glad to discover that this was one of the scrolls she was looking for, but very disappointed that it was not one for the Byakugan. Suddenly, she felt weak, as if she could just drop to the floor. She was glad that her sister would be able to learn another technique, and by reading this, it was a helpful technique. Feeling arms wrap around her, Tazze closed her eyes. She never backed away, but just welcomed it. She loved the comfort.

As if reading her body language, Itachi spoke some words of comfort. "We'll find the Byakugan scrolls."

"Why? So that Maliko can grow even more stronger," she stopped herself right there. She regretted saying that, and was disappointed with her quick anger. Biting her lower lip, she tried to look at the bright side of the situation. "She was the heir, and she is my sister…she needs to be strong."

Tazze turned her head to the side, so she could see Itachi from the corner of her eye. She turned slightly to face him. She never thought about the situation, but normally, she would have been blushing. Her arms wrapped around his neck, and she just hugged him. Pulling back a bit, she looked at his face. Itachi looked back into her pallid eyes as she shifted closer to him, standing on her tiptoes and stopping, her lips lingering just before his. Rather than planting a kiss on his lips, she settled for kissing him on the cheek. Feeling her kiss, Itachi turned his head to meet her lips. With her eyes closed, she kissed him. It was not demanding nor chaste.

She could feel his hand trail down to her lower back, pulling her closer into him. The two stood in the hall of the tower, in each other's embrace.

As if getting caught up in the passion of the moment, Tazze could feel Itachi run a hand through her hair. Her hands gripped his shoulders a bit tighter when she felt his lips leave hers. Moving her hand to the back of his neck, she lightly grasped his hair. She could feel as Itachi kissed her, tracing kisses alone her jawline and down her neck. The kiss was still soft.

Her fingers tightened their grip slightly in his hair when she felt the soft kisses on her jawline and neck. She could feel Itachi's Akatsuki cloak slipping off her shoulders and upon feeling the cloak fall off, she opened her eyes. As if waking from a dream, she jolted back. She had not intended for a simple kiss to go this far, and she was a bit shocked in her own actions. Itachi pulled back as well, not sure what caused this sudden response in Tazze.

Itachi took notice of how uncomfortable she looked. He let his arm drop to his side, but not so quickly as to make Tazze even more uncomfortable. He tried to look into her eyes but she kept avoiding his gaze.

"Tazze?"

"I'm sorry Itachi-kun." she said as she clasped her hands together.

She could feel Itachi take her chin into his hand, and gently Itachi lifted her head slightly, allowing him to look into her eyes. He loved how innocent she looked. She was beautiful to him and he somehow knew that no one had ever kissed her like he had. Itachi wanted to ask her what she was sorry about, but he knew that would make her even more uneasy.

Even without him saying anything, Tazze could read the little emotion that he held in his eyes, and once again became uncomfortable. She did not want to guilt Itachi into being with her, and thats how she viewed the situation. She was the one that first kissed Itachi, and she kissed him the second time, which led to their little make-out moment, which was cut short by Tazze.

Itachi pulled Tazze into an embrace and as she stood there, she didn't know what to do or think. The pressure of his kiss on her hair was comforting. It was as thought Itachi was telling Tazze not to worry, an unspoken word of comfort. He pulled back to look at her.

"Come." he said finally, "We have more scrolls to find."

Tazze smiled as her features softened. She appreciated how Itachi had not demanded a reason from her. Itachi let his hand trail down her arm and simply took her hand into his. Tazze quickly plucked the scroll up from off the ground and took it into her free hand. She flashed a smile to Itachi and they continued to the stairs to go up to the next floor in search of the scrolls.

Before they were able to reach the stairs though, Itachi's breath caught in his throat as he quickly grasped for the wall to steady himself on his feet. Apparently the gas from before was meant to do more than just irritate his eyes for a while.

"Itachi-kun! Are you alright?!" yelped Tazze as Itachi fell to his knees, fighting for breath. Tazze started to panic, wondering what she should do. She started frantacly rummaging through a pouch Itachi had brought, throwing the occasional shurikan and kunai to the floor, intent on finding something that could help Itachi.

Itachi's hand wrapped around Tazze's wrist, stopping her frantic searching. She looked at him shocked, worry clearly etched on her features.

"I-It's alright." He said through short breaths. "It's only t-temporary." Although she was relieved to hear that, she was still rather frightened about what was happening. If only Itachi hadn't covered just her with the cloak.

Itachi made a move to get up but was pushed back down as soon as he moved. He glanced towards Tazze questioning her motives.

"You're hurt so don't get up." she proclaimed sternly. "I'm gonna go get some water while you sit here and catch your breath." He opened his mouth to protest but her eyes became even more stern, so he merely nodded. It was surprising that such a quiet and shy girl could take order in a bad situation. He was silently grateful.

She hurriedly gathered herself and ran towards the stairs, Itachi watching her as she went and patiently waiting for her to return.

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A/N: Terri - man, that took quite some time to write….and personally, I think it's not that great…but still, good

Melissa - Well it was good despite the fact that i had to make up the ending!!!! But we're all grateful to terri for this chapter ne?! I know i am. See how one review can change a bit of the story?!!?! someone reviewed asking for some itachi and tazze fluff so i had to oblige.. but daaamn.. i didn't think terri would do that good on it! -sigh- my poor Maliko and her lack of action.. awel. Sorry about being so late with this chapter.. i've been busy. Await my next update!

Abayo

Malitia and Eternal Annoyance


	28. ZetsumeiGakure

A/N ayaaa!!! I'm glad you all liked the last chapter! Terri did a very good job of it if i must say so myself!!! well i won't keep you all waiting! Read on!

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Chapter 27 – ZetsumeiGakure

Maliko and Gaara seemed to be having the worst of luck in their search for the scrolls and they both seemed to argue any chance they got. Their frustration carried on through the day and into the night as they continued the seemingly never ending search. Presently they stood out in a vacant street, Maliko pondering where to go next and Gaara waiting for her to make up her mind.

"We could try Aysen's grandfather's house. He was a village elder and my mother's friend, so maybe he was entrusted with some.." she said softly, glad with her good thinking.

"You could've thought of that five hours ago when you didn't have an idea." muttered the ever so impatient Gaara as he glared at her from a few feet away.

"I'm trying my hardest you ingrate!" Maliko yelled, her fury matching the color of her hair.

"You're pretty damn weak, in body and mind, if you call that your hardest.." he retorted back just loud enough for her to hear.

Letting out an exasperate yell, Maliko grabbed up a stone from by her feet and threw it as hard as she could at Gaara. Not only was he not helping, but he seemed to be trying his hardest to anger her.

The stone connected with his sand wall and Gaara simply rolled his eyes at her petty attempts of angered assault.

"Instead of 'trying your hardest' to hurt me.. you could lead the way to the old man's home.." sarcasm dripped from his deep voice which only seemed to grate on Maliko's nerves more.

Out of nowhere, Maliko smirked evilly and turned her back to him.

"Try to keep up then ingrate.." the orange haired girl cooed mockingly.

Without warning, she ran down the street, charging chakra to her feet, and turned a corner, getting out of the red haired man's sight. She could hear him yelling from behind.

"Slow down moron!"

Her smirk only grew wider as she charged chakra to her palm and shot it back at him. His eyes widened momentarily before the sand blocked his view from the projectile of black chakra.

'She's attacking me!'

"I'm not gonna tell you again!" Gaara yelled making sure the girl in front of him heard his threat. "Stop or i'll make you!"

"Ha! Try it baka!" Charging chakra to her palm once again she released it behind her, aiming for Gaara's legs. It connected with sand once again and he continued in pursuit, trying to catch the ever slowly escaping girl.

"Alright, I warned you!" he yelled, his voice stern.

Before she could laugh at him, he ordered his sand to her ankles. She was fast, but she wasn't fast enough for him. The sand encircled the slender ankles and halted her running. As she stumbled to the ground, Gaara hurried to catch her before she bolted again.

Just as Maliko got up from the ground, she was tackled back down, and none too lightly.

"Ah! Y-you bastard!" screamed Maliko from underneath Gaara. He currently sat, straddling her waste and pinning her hands on either side of her head. She thrashed constantly, trying to bite, scratch, kick, and kill him in anyway possible.

"Stop it you savage!" he yelled as he nearly escaped her bared teeth. She didn't heed to his orders and kept trying to attack him. Gaara figured he would just wait till she tired out, but after every time she went less tense, she would start back up again.

Sighing, he wondered if they were ever going to get around to finding the scrolls. Maliko seemed more intent on playing than finding scrolls.

After more struggling, Maliko's voice turned frantic.

"Gaara.. Gaara!" he voice became hushed, like she was trying to whisper something. Gaara leaned down so he could hear what she was saying. As soon as he was a few inches away from her face, she shot her head past Gaara's and bit onto his shoulder. Gaara's eyes closed and his brow furrowed as pain surged through his shoulder. She wasn't biting enough to make him bleed, but enough for it to hurt.

"Maliko! Let... go!" He managed to growl while clenching his teeth. She only responded by biting down harder. Gaara could feel Maliko shaking, trying to hold in her laughter and it only made him more angry. Deciding to fight fire with fire, Gaara bit down on the side of her neck, below her ear. Her bodies shivers from held in laughter immediately turned to shivers of pain.

Not being one to give in, Maliko yet again, bit down harder, this time drawing blood. Gaara didn't want to bite into her neck so he settled for sucking it. Maliko's eyes grew wide when she felt what Gaara was doing and immediately let go of him.

"G-Gaara! What are you doing, you'll leave a mark!" She yelled, shocked as she began struggling, moving her body every which way on the ground, trying to get the man off of her while screaming.

"S-Stop!.. Gaara!!"

He merely brought his chest closer to hers to pin her thoroughly on the ground and stifle her shifting beneath him. He continued sucking on her neck, inwardly smirking. Maliko still tried thrashing but was quite trapped as Gaara now rested his chest on hers and still held her hands beside her head.

A little while later he unlatched from her neck and looked at Maliko's face. Seeing the pain that was clearly shown on her features he leant back down towards the little red mark he had made.

She flinched when she saw him leaning back towards her neck, thinking he was going to mark her again. Her eyes widened when she felt a smooth wetness on the same spot he had sucked before. Gaara let his tongue trail across the mark softly, easing the burning that was there.

Maliko closed her eyes as she felt the pain in her neck slowly ebb away. It was such a nice feeling that he was giving her. It made her feel somewhat warm. When she felt Gaara's tongue leave her skin she slowly opened her eyes to find Gaara leaning over her, his face but a few inches away from hers.

He smirked at the dazed look on her face. "Are you good now?" he asked her, his cool breath grazing his cheeks. It took her a moment to respond and she slowly nodded her head, keeping her eyes on his.

"Lets get to Aysen's grandfather's then." Lifting himself off of her, he rose to stand above her, his feet on either side of her hips. He smirked as he looked down at her. "And don't run away from me again or the consequences will be worse."

He held out a hand and Maliko hesitantly took it. As she rose to stand at his side, she didn't look at him, but looked down the road instead. He could see the mark below her ear quite clearly in the moonlight. She hadn't said anything in a while nor even yelled at him for marking her, she just simply held that dazed or blissful look on her features.

'I guess she liked it.' Gaara thought gleefully, although he hid his glee well.

"What if they see it?" Maliko asked quietly, breaking the silence. Her gaze still intent on the road ahead.

"So what if they do?"

"W-Won't they get the wrong idea?" she hesitantly replied.

"I would think they would get the right idea, ne?" Gaara said back, smirking as she turned to look at him. Did he mean to tell her that he did that out of affection?

Maliko blushed as she thought about his meaning and turned to look away again. Without another word, she started walking down the street towards their destination. She heard Gaara's footsteps behind her and she silently hoped he didn't see her blushing. His ego must be getting way to huge for him to handle.

Gaara had seen her blush momentarily before she started off and he smirked as he started walking behind her. He figured he'd let her think he didn't see and give her a small break.

When the two came to Aysen's grandfather's house, they were met with no resistance except a locked door, which Maliko easily picked. They searched for a long time before they were able to find anything.

As Gaara leafed through a desk in the living area, he came across a pure white scroll.

"Oi! Maliko, I found one." he yelled and not long after Maliko came bouncing down the stairs towards him. Before he could open it, she took it from him and bounded away towards a bedroom and once inside, locked the door.

"Uhh... What are you doing?" asked Gaara as he stood in the same spot and looked at the door she disappeared through.

"Its the Byakugan scroll!" Maliko muffled yell came from behind the door.

"So.. Let me see?"

"No! Its for Tazze's eyes only!" she yelled back, still not coming out of the room.

"Ugh, you're such a stubborn woman.."

Sticking her head out the bedroom door she grinned at Gaara. Sheepishly I might add.

"Well I guess we found what we're looking for then.." He began towards the door, not waiting for Maliko. "Let's get back home and rest."

She ran to catch up and they both began their trek across the village towards the small house of the Death Children.

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A/N CINEMATIC!!! on to the melting boy.. I melt away!!... ahha sorry i was listening to that while i wrote this and now its stuck in my head. Ok so, sorry this took so long, i'll try to get the next one out faster.. but jeez!! wats up with Ffn .net? Like.. they arent sending me my alerts! For ANYTHING!! and its frustrating and hurtful! - sigh – is anyones else having the same problem?

Well review!! cus i love j00!!

Abayo

Malitia


	29. LunarMist

A/N – this is gay.. Ffn is so screwed up, i don't receive any notices until like.. two days later. I appreciated the very few reviews that i received. You're the ones that keep me going.. the rest of yall are just mean!!!! thats right

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Chapter 29 - Lunar-Mist

Maliko and Gaara arrived back at the girl's home about three hours before sunrise to find the house empty. Tazze and Itachi hadn't been back yet and this made Maliko somewhat uneasy. After all, Itachi was more clever than Gaara and could probably find a scroll faster than them.

"I wonder how come they're not here yet.. Do you think something happened?" asked Maliko, looking worriedly towards the apathetic red head.

"Yeah, maybe they met up with some evil men in this deserted village and weren't able to fend for themselves." He replied back, letting the sarcasm be clearly known.

"Gaara you bastard, don't say anything if you're going to be sarcastic!" yelled Maliko, directing her sternness towards Gaara who currently sat on the couch with his eyes closed.

He sat silent, trying to mock her. Getting angry she stormed out of the house with an over emphasized exasperated sigh while slamming the shouji.

As soon as she looked down the street though, her anger quickly turned to that of confused. In the distance she could see a large, dark figure walking towards her, oddly limping.

"A-ano..Gaara!?" she called hesitantly to the man inside. He quickly ran out when he heard the urgency and uncertainty in her voice. When he opened the shouji he immediately noticed the figure and squinted to see what it was.

"..Thats.. Tazze and Itachi." he proclaimed, somewhat confused at why they were so close.

Maliko squinted when she heard this and saw it was indeed Tazze. Itachi appeared to be hurt and Tazze had his arm wrapped around her shoulders to help him stay up.

Maliko and Gaara quickly bolted over to the two to help Itachi back to the house. Maliko relieved a very tired Tazze, and wrapped Itachi's right arm over her shoulder, while Gaara took Itachi's left.

Itachi was barely conscious, his head hung down and his feet unable to take strong, steady steps. Tazze ran ahead to open the shouji for the three and quickly stumbled towards her mother's room and pulled back the sheets for Itachi.

Maliko and Gaara hauled Itachi in and set him down on the bed, watching as Itachi struggled for breath, his eyes shut tight as he coughed every so often.

"What the hell happened?!" Gaara turned to Tazze, and asked in a hushed voice.

"W-We went to the Zetsumeikage tower and there were t-traps set up. I-Itachi-kun breathed in some toxins while trying to get us out and collapsed soon after." Tazze replied, tears threatening to come.

"Kami.." sighed Gaara. Running a hand through his red hair. "Maliko go get some warm clothes and Tazze.. you stay here with him. I'm going out to see if Aysen knows anything about this." Both the girls nodded, knowing that Gaara wouldn't let it known that they were trying to find the scrolls. He walked out of the room and Maliko followed soon after, glancing hesitantly towards Tazze before heading to the kitchen to boil some warm water..

The brunette sat on the bed beside Itachi, observing the man's fitful breathing and movements. Placing her hand on his forehead, she smoothed back the stray hair. His eyes flickered slightly open and gazing at her beside him, he managed a half hearted smirk.

"Don't look so worried Tazze.." he managed to say, barely above a whisper.

"A-Are you alright?! Does it hurt?" she started frantically. "Is there anything I can get you!"

"I'm fine..just drained." She hadn't noticed it before, but his eyes were no longer the shocking crimson that they always were, but were now a deep black. Apparently it took him all his energy just to try walking back to the house and he was no longer able to keep up his Sharingan.

"Just tell me if you need anything then." she stated softly as her panicky composure died down. He nodded and quickly nodded off into a barely pleasant sleep.

A few minutes later, there was a soft knocking at the door and Gaara poked his head in, motioning Tazze out of the room. She obliged reluctantly and with one last glance at the sleeping Uchiha, she made her way into the living room behind Gaara.

"Apparently the toxins weren't just for temporary damage. She says its going to keep eating away at his lungs until we get the proper herb for him. Aysen says you guys would know where it is.." Maliko had made her way into the room from the kitchen and sat down on the couch to listen. She looked to Tazze and cocked her head, confused.

"Whats it called?" questioned Maliko.

"Lunar-Mist.. found in Zetsumei's Garden" This really meant nothing to Gaara since there could possibly be about twenty gardens in ZetsumeiGakure, and he had never heard of an herb called Lunar-Mist either.

"Alright! Maliko and I will go grab some then!" yelled Tazze, punching the air with determination.

"Fine, just don't take too long."

"We'll be back soon." replied Maliko as she was hurried out of the door by an over eager Tazze.

During the walk to the Zetsumei Garden Tazze was always ahead of Maliko, wanting to get to the herbs as fast as she could so Itachi didn't have to suffer anymore. Maliko always knew her sister was loyal and overzealous about helping people, but for some reason, Tazze made it seem like it would be the end of the world if they didn't get that herb to Itachi. Had he said or done something that would make her so?

Maliko shrugged off the thought and continued with following her sister, who was already a street ahead and had already caught sight of the Garden past some trees and began running towards it. Maliko decided to take it slow, after all, it didn't take two people to pick some measly herbs.

As Tazze bounded past the trees surrounded the Garden she looked back to catch sight of Maliko. The large oaks did a good job of obscuring her view, but Tazze knew her sister was just being slow.

Tazze already knew what the herbs looked like since her mother had told her long ago about many different types. Kneeling down by the fluffy white leaved plants she began to pick, deciding to take more than enough, just in case.

A snapping twig caught her attention as she whipped her head towards the trees on the other side of the Garden. Maliko would be coming from the opposite direction, but Tazze merely shrugged it off figuring it just to be a squirrel.

Although, as soon as she let her guard down and reached back towards the herbs, chains shot from the trees, seemingly from every direction, and wrapped around her neck, wrists, and ankles pulled her sharply to the ground, pulled to stretch out on her back.

She let out a startled yelp when her back collided with the hard ground and almost immediately after she saw a flash of orange from the corner of her eyes. Turning her head as much as she could towards the vibrant color, slightly choking from the chain around her neck, she sent a warning glare to Maliko. Silently telling her to not be seen..

Maliko hesitated before doing a few handseals and dissapearing into the shadows of the trees. Tazze saw the worried glint in her white eyes before she faded to black.

A lone tear slid down the brunette's cheek, part from relief that her sister would not be harmed and part from pain as the chains pulled dangerously tight around her neck.

All at once, four black clad men jumped from surrounding trees, walking closer to surround the struggling girl on the ground. Their white porcelain masks looking towards her, glowing eerily in the moonlight.

"W-Who..are y-you.." she managed to gasp out as one knelt down closer to her. She flinched when he reached towards her neck, but he merely loosened the chains there.

"Konoha ANBU.. We were sent to retrieve you, under the order of the Godaime and Hyuuga Hiashi." Hearing these names, her eyes widened as she began to panic, thrashing and struggling against the bonds.

"Oi, cool it Maliko. You won't be hurt if you cooperate." They thought she was Maliko? Maybe Hyuuga Hiashi had ordered a search and retrieve mission for a Byakugan holder named Maliko, and not bothered to mention the hair color. She was glad that they had found her instead of Maliko though. She would do anything to save her sister.

As Tazze stopped her struggling the three men standing looked towards the man kneeling next to her expectantly. As if they spoke through one mind, the man kneeling next to her pulled some rope from his pouch while the other three released her from the chains, but still held her down.

After her wrists were bound, the same man that had talked to her hauled her over his shoulder and nodding to the others, made their way to the walls surrounding Zetsumeigakure.

Tazze looked up just in time to see her sister letting down her jutsu and take a hesitant step towards herself and the ANBU, but stopped when Tazze shook her head furiously and mouthed words to her.

"Get. Herbs. Get. Help." The silent commands were understood and just as Tazze's view was blocked by trees, Maliko swiftly ran for the herbs on the ground and darted back to the house, not daring to slow down in case Tazze was in serious harm.

* * *

A/N i think i'll stop here for the night. That was extremely hard to concoct up. Like...wtf.. Lunar-Mist --wtf is that!?!?! i'm dumb.... i didn't even know it was gonna happen but awel.. guess it did. Next chapter should be interesting! I'm going to bed.. REVIEW!!!!! show me love!!

Abayo

Malitia


	30. Sibling's Hate

A/n --- awe i got real discouraged after reading a review. I know it seems like the same thing is happening over and over again, but bear with me! All these encounters were made for a purpose! PLS!!!!! anyways :'( heres the next chap

read on!

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Chapter 30 – Sibling's Hate

"Gaara!... Gaara!!" The red haired man was startled out of his thoughts when he heard the frantic screaming from outside. When he had run outside, he found Maliko, who looked like she had just ran five miles.

"Maliko?! Whats the matter?" When she caught sight of Gaara she was going to tell him what happened, but stopped short when her legs gave out and she crumpled to the ground, exhausted.

Gaara quickly ran over to the girl on the ground and picked her up. He carried her into the house bridal style, and set her down on the couch. Kneeling down beside her, he let her catch her breath and then began with his barrage of questions.

"What the hells going on? Where's Tazze?" She opened her mouth to speak, but when her sisters name was said she quickly closed it, gathering a worried look on her face.

"T-Tazze was picking the herbs when four ANBU from Konoha attacked her. They said they were taking her back to Konoha for the Godaime and Hyuuga Hiashi." She said it all very fast but he caught the gist of it. Noticing the herbs she had clutched in her hand, he decided to get Itachi healed up and ready to go after them.

Taking the herbs from Maliko he was about to walk to the kitchen but her clutching his pant leg stopped him. Turning back to look at her, he noticed that she was now hysterical with tears streaming down her face.

"Gaara.. If they take her to Hiashi, he's not gonna wait to seal her. Since I escaped last time when he decided to wait til dawn, he'll seal her quickly so the same won't happen again."

"We'll get to her in time. Get some rest and be ready to go when Itachi's healed up." She hesitantly released her hold on his pantleg and nodded. Taking this as his chance to go, he quickly went to the kitchen and boiled the herbs.

* * *

After Itachi had drank the antidote, it didn't take long for him to be able to get up. It had been two hours and it would be three hours before he would be fully healed. Gaara had quickly filled him in on Tazze's situation and found that Itachi was as eager to go as Maliko.

Itachi was still a bit winded but despite Gaara's protests, they ended up leaving to get Tazze back. Before they left, Aysen caught up with them and as they filled her in on their objective, they found that she also wanted to help in the search and retrieve of her old friend.

"Are you sure? After all, you're the only guardian of Zetsumeigakure" Maliko asked hesitantly, wary of whether she wanted Aysen to abandon the village.

"Well then that just makes me want to get Tazze back faster and hurry back, ne?" replied Aysen, voicing her loyalties to Zetsumeigakure and its villagers.

"Alright, lets go then." cut in Itachi, getting impatient with all the stalling. He knew for a fact that the ANBU couldn't have reached Konoha by now, it would take them at least a day, but probably a day and a half with a captive.

The four companions sped off into the direction Maliko had seen her sister dragged towards, hopping over the wall and disappearing into the darkness of the trees.

* * *

"Oi! We'll stop here for a bit. You..." The man holding Tazze nodded in a shorter ANBU's direction. "go trail back a hundred yards, make sure that we weren't followed by anyone."

"Hai." The Anbu jumped to the trees and immediately sped off to where he was ordered. The other two men went about setting up a small fire, one that would barely be noticed, while the ANBU captain that held Tazze started to rummage through a pack after setting her on the ground.

Tazze fell backwards, letting her shoulder blades hit the ground so she could look up into the still night sky. She eventually got too uncomfortable with her bound hands digging into her back and launched herself into a sitting position once more.

Tazze was startled when she was sitting up again, she found her captor without his mask, taking a sip of water from a jug.

"Ita..Itachi-kun?" As soon as she spoke the name, the ANBU captain's head snapped in her direction. His murderous glare made her fidget on the spot.

"What did you say?" he all but growled.

"Ah.. N-Nothing!" she hastily replied, shooting her gaze away from his now blood red eyes.

Sasuke roughly grabbed her jaw and made her look at him, letting his hands eventually lower to hover over her throat. Tazze clearly noticed that he was trying hard not to strangle her on the spot.

"Why did you mention his name?" she made no move to reply. This only infuriated the Uchiha more. He now grabbed her throat and as she struggled to breath, he hissed "Answer me!"

"I.. I've been t-traveling with him!" she managed to squeak out, while trying to gasp for the oxygen she was denied. Clenching his teeth, he roughly pushed her back, making her fall to the rough dirt, inches away from the fire.

"Are you his assistant, helping him murder innocent people. Or are you his lover?" He growled, towering over her as she looked up at the seething man from her spot on the ground. His accusation made her blush slightly, making her think back to the soft kisses Itachi had placed upon her in the tower.

"I.. do not k-kill innocent people!" she yelled, inwardly tuning out the rest of his question.

"So you're his lover?" This presumption seemed to make him more furious. The fact that someone could hold his aniki's heart while his own family could not do so was aggravating.

"I.. don't know." replied Tazze, her voice hushed as she looked away from Sasuke, secretly remembering the past night with Itachi.

"I would kill you now Maliko if I wasn't ordered to bring you back alive." Seeing the anger in her face made him smirk. Though Sasuke wasn't sure of Hiashi's motives for wanting this girl, he for sure knew it wasn't for strength. What would the Clan leader want with a weakling.

Something then dawned on him. He noticed that the girl in front of him wore no forehead protector like the other branch members. Instead she wore it around her waist. Sasuke remembered Naruto explaining about his and Neji's conversation at their first Chuunin exam, how Neji and the other branch members were cursed with a seal to bind their Byakugan when they died, making it impossible for others to research the eyes.

Out of curiosity, Sasuke knelt down beside the girl on the ground and reached out to smooth back her bangs. Tazze noticed what he was about to do and quickly shot forward, hoping to bite down on his pale hand. Sasuke quickly jerked his hand back and stopped to contemplate something.

Before Tazze could react, his slender fingers were wrapped around her neck, holding her down to the ground and restraining her from biting him. With his other hand he slowly pushed the hair covering her forehead back, revealing exactly what he had predicted.

"So, Hiashi wants you because you have no seal?" He questioned, more as a statement, not really caring for an answer.

Tazze merely glared up at his stoic triumphant face.

"I presume he fears that you would be an easy kill, thus endangering his bloodline."

That had struck deep.

"I would not!" she yelled as she snapped her eyes shut in frustration.

"Hm?"

"I would n-not be an easy kill!" Sasuke noticed she sounded more like she was trying to convince herself more than him. Smirking he took his hand from her neck and stood up.

"You can't even defend yourself in the mess your in."

"You shouldn't be the one to talk! I've seen it and I know that you're way weaker than Itachi-kun." Tazze didn't hesitate, nor bother to keep her voice down. She had figured it out long before that this was Sasuke, Itachi's younger brother that he did not kill along with the rest of their clan.

Tazze sat up slowly looking towards her feet sadly. She knew the man was fuming with her last statement.

"I guess we have something in common ne?" He hesitated in his thoughts when he heard this.

"What do you mean?" he asked in a hushed voice, trying to keep his emotional barricade in check.

"We're both overshadowed by our stronger siblings... held back by our jealousy towards them." The sadness in her voice was clearly noticeable. Sasuke soon recovered from what she had said.

"You have a sibling? Another with the Byakugan?" Did Hiashi not know there were two?

"Hai.. My sister Maliko."

"You're... You're not Maliko?!" Sasuke asked thoroughly stunned.

"Iie. I'm Tazze.. Maliko's lesser twin sister."

The only thing Sasuke could think was 'Shit. I'm gonna get an earful for this.'

* * *

A/N....Sorry that took so long.. That was immense writers block. I'm glad for my wonderful reviewer Jesslikewhoa who defended my fanfic against a loserish flamer ---- blipblop or something like that. This chapter was dedicated to you Jesslike whoa and all you other WONDERFUL reviewers.. you gave me the motivation to even continue with this story.. await next chapter!

Abayo

Malitia


	31. A Snake's Charm

A/N.. oops! I was in Calgary seeing my cousin and... i couldn't update! Gomen ne! i'll make this an extra juicy chapter since i made you all wait so long..

read on!

* * *

Chapter 31 – A Snakes Charm

"I can't believe I took the wrong one.." muttered Sasuke, utterly stunned at how much he screwed up. How was he supposed to know there were two girls. Hiashi only said the one, Maliko.

Tazze, meanwhile, looked at the shocked man in front of her, trying to work something out in her mind. Any means to stall would work perfectly in her favor.

"So...Does that mean I get to go?" she asked hesitantly.

His eyes shot in her direction and looked down at her with disdain. "Why would I let you go? Although you're the wrong Hyuuga.. You still have the Byakugan and no seal. Hiashi will be somewhat pleased either way."

"Y-you're not even gonna go look for Maliko!" This wasn't turning out good at all. She thought that if they went to look for Maliko they would meet up with Itachi and Gaara.

"Do you think i'm that stupid?... Although you may be weak, I highly doubt your sister is. Also, I would just be endangering my team's lives to put them up against Itachi and Gaara."

"Wait...How do you know Gaara-san is with our team?" she blurted out, shocked.

"He was sighted with a woman, whom I presume to be Maliko, when they left Konoha. Thats how I know that your twin is strong. There is something she can do that can corrode away at flesh and even bones. She severely injured two chuunins." Although he held suspicion in why Maliko could make flesh and bone alike corrode, he didn't sound the least bit concerned about the two hurt chuunins.

"How do you know it was Maliko that did that to them... Maybe it was Gaara." she stated trying to sound confident.

"I know for a fact that wasn't Gaara. He controls the sand, not the ability to kill someone by making someones body rot." proclaimed Sasuke, watching the girl fidget.

"Why is it that she can do that? What kind of technique allows her the ability?" he asked warily, gazing at her white eyes that searched the ground.

"I know nothing." Tazze replied quickly. She flinched when she saw him move in her peripheral vision, thinking he was going to strike her. The blow never came though and when she looked up, she saw him sitting in front of her, staring intently into her eyes. No longer were his red, but a pitch black, much like Itachi's when he was drained of chakra.

"I know you lie.." he said to her softly "But, I'll probably find out sooner or later anyways. After all, I doubt that my brother is going to let it slide that I took his woman." She blushed momentarily but quickly shot back at him.

"He won't take mercy on you. He already did twice but this time he'll surely kill you." His face flashed from sombre to fury faster than she could finish the sentence. "If you let me go I won't tell him it was you that took me."

"What makes you think that he could kill me so easily? I was six and twelve when I had seen him last. I'm much older and much more experienced now." yelled Sasuke as he clenched his fists in his lap.

"Although you may have got stronger, so has Itachi. It's not like hes gonna stop and wait just for you to get as strong as him so you can kill him!" Sasuke looked like he was ready to strangle her once again but restrained himself. He knew she was right and it only made him feel worse.

"Thats enough." he muttered looking away from her and hauling himself to his feet. She watched as he made his way over to the other two ANBU who had been talking to each other by a large oak and saw Sasuke's lips moving. The two ANBU nodded and bolted in the direction that the third ANBU had went.

While watching the two ANBU disappear into the trees, Tazze didn't notice Sasuke stride over to her. She felt a strong grip on her bicep as she was jolted to her feet.

"W-What's going on?" she asked worried.

"We're leaving. Hiashi wants you by evening so he can give you the seal. Theres probably only a few more hours of night left and traveling in the day makes us easier to be seen so we'll have to go slower. I wanna get as far as we can before we have to slow down." said Sasuke as he put the water back in his pack, still keeping a hold of her arm.

"Iie!" she yelled "Iie! I'm not going there! Let go of me!" Tazze screamed while struggling furiously against his hold on her. Tears brimmed the corner of her eyes as she dealt a hard kick to his shin, causing him to let go of her arm.

As soon as his strong hand released her arm, she bolted toward the trees, intent on getting away, back to Itachi, Maliko, and Gaara. She heard Sasuke behind her and mentally pushed herself to go faster.

Quickly looking back she noticed Sasuke not but seven feet behind her, his brows furrowed and features determined. She was just about to look back in front of her when she saw Sasuke smirk.

'What the hell is he smirking fo-'

Tazze's thoughts were answered when she ran into someone. She made to move back but strong arms quickly encircled her. She screamed, kicked and even tried to bite, but try as she may, she couldn't get away.

"Enough stalling. It's time to go." hissed Sasuke as he slipped his mask back on. She was pushed back into Sasuke's arms by none other than the third ANBU, the two other ANBU by his side.

Before Tazze could so much as yell out an insult to the third ANBU, he was dead.

Senbon flew from every direction, hitting the three ANBU that stood in front of her. They couldn't even yell in despair before they hit the ground with senbon protruding from their heart, throat, stomach and arms.

Tazze quickly looked to a shocked Sasuke. His eyes flitted over the darkness, looking for an attacker.

"Sasuke-kun..." came a low hiss that seemed to echo from all around them. Oh how Tazze wished she didn't leave her katanas back at the house.

Tazze felt a strong hand grip around her arm and she looked back to Sasuke. He did not look at her, but uttered a quiet but stern order while cutting the bindings around her wrists.

"Activate your Byakugan."

She hesitated before nodding towards him. She knew that if they didn't find the source of the attacks they might not make it out alive. Even though it meant helping an enemy like Sasuke, it also meant helping herself.

"Byakugan!"

Immediately her vision became sharper and her ability to see through the trees and darkness sprang to life. There! She saw it.. Three nins about 50 feet away. She tapped on Sasuke's arm to get his attention and when he looked she pointed towards the direction the nins were in.

"What village?" he asked quietly while looking from her to the direction her finger pointed.

"I think its.. Sound." She had never actually seen their forehead protectors before but she thought it was pretty much a dead give away since there was a music note etched into the shiny metal.

"Shit!" cursed Sasuke. Quickly grabbing her hand in his he made to bolt towards the opposite direction of the Sound nins but was roughly pulled down when a snake wrapped around his ankle.

Almost immediately after he fell, Tazze was at his side. Fast as lightning she whipped a kunai out of his holster on his leg and started attacking the snake slicing its leathery skin and stabbing out its eyes. As soon as the snake was dead, she was tugged back onto her feet as Sasuke made a second attempt at fleeing with her.

Before they could run more than five steps a man appeared in front of them. His long black hair slightly flowing in the cool wind and his shocking yellow eyes freezing Tazze in her spot. Sasuke stepped in front of her and glared daggers at the man, his killing intent radiating off him ten fold.

"Orochimaru.." Sasuke hissed, his Sharingan glinting in the moonlight.

"Kukuku... Sasuke-kun.. Don't look at me with such hatred after I so graciously gave you strength." said the pale man.

"What did you come here for!" yelled Sasuke as he clenched his fists at his side.

"For you of course." Orochimaru proclaimed casually. Sasuke saw his white hand twitch slightly and within seconds they were surrounded by dozens of huge snakes while Orochimaru laughed at Sasuke's dilemma.

As the snakes moved closer a squeal was heard and Sasuke felt Tazze's back hit his. Although one snake didn't scare her, multiples of them did.

Orochimaru stopped his laughing when he heard the quiet yelp. Circling around Sasuke he came to gaze upon a slender girl with brown hair clutching onto the back of the Uchiha's shirt, warily watching the snakes.

"And who might this be Sasuke-kun?" Orochimaru asked sweetly, his gaze flitting across ever inch of her. He stopped when he noticed her frightened eyes and immediately he was jolted to a flashback.

The Akatsuki invasion of Zetsumeigakure. This was one of the Zetsumeikage's daughters.. the ones he had wanted to take. She had grown much but her long brown hair, freckles, and shocking white eyes made her unforgettable.

"The little Hyuuga child from Zetsumeigakure, ne?"

Her eyes faltered from the snakes and snapped to his.

"How do you know me!" she asked, fright clearly traceable in her voice.

"You killed one of my men along with the other child when we invaded your village, then disappeared. I wasn't pleased by this, but how lucky I am to have you back."

"Wha-" Her confusion was cut short when she felt a sharp pain in the back of her neck, her vision fading to black. She had forgotten about the other two nins she had seen before. Dropping to the ground, she noticed Sasuke readying for an attack before she couldn't keep her eyes open any longer. She let her body rest on the ground, her mind moving to unconsciousness.

* * *

A/N phew.. i tried to hurry.. but i think i just had a seasure.. my screen is fuckin up something back and ow..my eyes.. anyways here you go! Review and give me love and motivation my friends!

Abayo

Malitia


	32. I'm Convinced

A/N -

Terri – OMG! I am so sorry, but my comp went kinda gay..ahem...i couldn't type it up at first and had to wait to give it to melissa at school... but ya...plus i was so sick, but now i'm better . Man, kay, the last chapter was confusing, so if this one is a bit odd, it's just me being clueless (Melissa - "As always").

Melissa – Welp.. sorry that its been over a week for people who actually like to read this story... i had problems at work and homework and.. i'm just lazy most of the time.. so excuses aren't important.. i'll stop wasting ur time so ...

read on!

* * *

Chapter – I'm Convinced..

"Hurry up!" yelled Maliko as she raced along the ground, dodging trees and glancing back at her companions. "Who knows how far they've gotten already! They might be in as much of a hurry as we are."

Her gaze returned to the path ahead of her. The thought of her sister being pummeled into a beaten up state somehow crept its way into her mind. She gritted her teeth and promised to herself that she would do anything to save Tazze.

Without her even noticing, she muttered Tazze's name and a few curses towards the ANBU. It wasn't until she heard Aysen talking to her that she realized what she was doing.

"Maliko.. Don't worry, we'll get Tazze back.." Aysen reassured the frantic orange haired girl. "Besides, I'm sure she can handle herself for a few hours.." she knew she sounded like she was mocking, but even if Tazze did not have the same abilities as Maliko, she still had her Byakugan.

"I know that!" Maliko snapped back out of frustration. "But who knows whats happening to her... that's what scares me. I'm so worried about her..."

Maliko was about to say something more, but before she could she hit the ground. For a split second, it felt as though time slowed and Maliko could feel something wrapped around her ankle. Was someone attacking her? Maybe the ANBU coming back to get her?

Before she could land flat on her face, Maliko held her forearm in front of her and planted her left hand out in front, getting ready to roll. Turning onto her shoulder, she rolled to a crouching position, only to stumble anyways.

Aysen immediately stopped when she saw Maliko was no longer beside her. She turned to find Maliko sprawled on the ground and an arm of sand returning to the swirl around Gaara. A look of surprise came to her face.

'What the hell is going on!' Aysen though to herself, as she saw both Itachi stop and Gaara begin to storm towards Maliko. 'Why are they attacking her!'

Maliko pushed herself up off the ground, shaking her head and ridding her hair of dirt. Taking her sleeve in her hand she wiped her cheeks. Immediately she shot a glance behind her, forgetting about her spill.

"What the fuck-" She stopped in midsentence when she saw the last traces of sand returning to sit and Gaara's feet. A look of confusion came to her face, then anger quickly replaced it. "What's wrong with you!"

Gaara stopped but four feet away from her, emotion void from his face.

"My sister's life is in danger and you want to pick a fight with me!" she practically screamed at him.

"We don't know that shes in immediate danger for sure.." Gaara calmly replied.

Maliko's eyes burned with fury. She glanced over to Itachi knowing he would want to help her as much as Aysen did. No luck. Even he was as calm looking as Gaara. Aysen stood in the same spot she was in before, still trying to make sense of what was happening.

"... Then you guys don't care about her!" Maliko accused the two Akatsuki men.

"We do.." assured Itachi.

"But that doesn't mean we have to rush into everything with blind fury." Gaara finished what Itachi was about to get at. "Of course, I'm not surprised that you're the only one doing that here."

"Oh, and let me guess, emotions are a shinobi's weakness," Maliko sneered. "That's a load of bullshit!"

"Look, I understand why your fear and worry may drive you to save your sister, but-" Gaara stopped himself when he saw Maliko crouch down slightly, ready to lunge at him. He glared at her – her impatience and stubbornness were rather annoying.

Widening his stance a bit, he prepared for Maliko's assault.

Maliko's fist came close to his face, but he quickly dodged it, his reaction almost too slow. Gaara kept his sand back, instead he would handle Maliko on his own.

All her kicks, all her punches, none of them seemed to connect but they were all close.. too close. Before she could get the upperhand, Gaara decided to end it. He hooked her ankle with his foot, and just as he had hoped, she kicked with her other leg. He took the opportunity and knocked her onto her back. As if by routine, Gaara hurried to pin her hands down on either side of her head while straddling her hips.

"But... Imagining worst case scenarios will not help anybody.." Gaara said sternly, barely struggling to keep ahold of the girl. He turned his head towards Itachi and a very jittery Aysen.

"Go on ahead, we'll catch up." said Gaara wanting to cool Maliko down without an audience.

Itachi simply nodded and turning, grabbed Aysen's wrist and began to lead them through the trees away from the fighting couple.

Gaara loosened his hold on Maliko's wrists and slid his hands into hers, their fingers laced together. Her anger seemed to vanish from her face, only to be replaced by a look of worry. She turned her eyes away from Gaara's, ashamed of herself for attacking him when he was right. Gaara took her actions as a sign of defeat and slid off her to show her that he wasn't going to fight her anymore. Gaara helped Maliko into a sitting position and he sat directly across from her. Her eyes remained on the ground and Gaara too looked down, unsure of what to say to Maliko. Rubbing the back of his neck, he brought his knee up and rested his arm on it.

"Maliko?" Gaara wanted to stop her from being foolish.. not crush her spirit.

Maliko could barely hear his voice; it sounded as though it were but a whisper being swept away by the winds. She could feel the warmth of Gaara's hands, their hands still entwined, but even then he felt so far away.

She had to find Tazze, since she was all she had left. No mother, no father, no village, and now her sister would be taken from her. Then it hit her. Tazze was not dying, but that seal would very much kill her one day, for she was not loyal to the Main House. She had to keep them from placing the seal on her sister.

"My father..." Maliko said quietly.

"Nani?" Gaara looked at Maliko trying to figure out what she was mumbling about.

"For my father," Maliko looked up to meet Gaara's gaze, determination apparent in her eyes. "I have to save Tazze, or else all that my father had sacrificed will be in vain."

Gaara had never seen Maliko this serious before, well, at least regarding her past. In fact, now that he thought about it, she never did mention her family much. Not even when he had retrieved her from the Hyuuga Compound did she talk about her family. Gaara could feel his breath catch in his lungs when he saw a tear slowly roll down her pale cheeks, and past the part of the black seal beneath her eye.

"Maliko.." he pulled his hand away from hers and with his thumb, gently wiped away the single tear.

Maliko leaned into the cool touch and Gaara shifted closer to her, wrapping his arms around her in a soft embrace.

Placing a gentle kiss on Maliko's lips as she suppressed a silent sob. Gaara pulled away and ran his fingers through her vibrant hair, pushing the bangs out of her face.

"We should get going or Itachi's gonna have a fit.." he stated quietly to the blushing girl that now let her gaze travel along the ground. "Are you gonna cool down now and not be so hot-headed?"

Maliko's gaze sifted from the grass to Gaara's pale green eyes. A smirk was apparent on her face and she nodded.

Gaara pulled himself off the ground, and held out a hand to help Maliko up. She dusted herself off from the fall as Gaara began walking towards the direction Aysen and Itachi left.

"Wait! Gaara!" Maliko called to him, and hurried to get by his side. Gaara stopped and looked towards Maliko from the corner of his eye.

"Thank you Gaara." she said while shuffling her feet and stared down at her fidgeting hands. "You reminded me of what's important."

Gaara was about to say something, when suddenly he felt her punch his arm. He immediately turned to her, a look of surprise on his face.

'What the hell is wrong with her now!' Gaara thought to himself. He fought the urge to slap her back, which was quite easy when he saw the childish smile on her face.

Maliko laughed inwardly, and an image of her sister returned to her. "Let's go slowpoke!" she said as she broke into a run.

'I'll find you Tazze.' Maliko vowed to herself.

They caught up with Itachi and Aysen after a few minutes and Gaara began to run up ahead with Aysen.

"They have never been separated like this before" Aysen said suddenly without looking at Gaara. Gaara glanced at Aysen beside him. "It would have been less strain if Maliko was the one taken because Tazze would know her sister could fend for herself for the time being, but I don't think Maliko has that much faith in Tazze."

She stopped talking for a minute, then continued. "Though, I think Maliko is taking it quite well now." she proclaimed as she looked over to the calm and collected Hyuuga. "I thought that only Tazze and her late mother had that kind of influence on her... but I guess you do to." Aysen looked over at Gaara and met his emerald eyes.

"And believe me, it's not easy to gain her trust as you have."

Gaara turned his gaze away from her, and looked to Maliko behind them. If it meant keeping her happy, Gaara would do all he could to find Tazze. He remembered that feeling he got when he saw Maliko in that broken state. Though it was unfamiliar to him, he knew that he cared for her. Even that was very rare for him...

Seeing Itachi running ahead of him clued him in on Itachi's thoughts as well. Gaara could not help but wonder what would happen to Maliko if Tazze was not retrieved.

* * *

Sasuke stood ready to counter any attack that these sound nins would have. Looking down, he could see an unconcious Tazze next to him. His ANBU team lay dead not far from him, and seeing the senbon needles in Tazze's back and neck made him fear the worst for her. An anger boiled inside him as he realized that his mission wasn't going smoothly at all. His whole team was dead and all because of one easy search and retrieve for a girl. He gritted his teeth and his Sharingan began to whirl as his anger grew.

"You've accomplished killing my team.." Sasuke managed to say finally, then he looked down a the Hyuuga girl, "The girl I'm not too sure about, but surely that was not your aim." Sasuke turned his blood-red eyes to the snake man. After fighting his urge to lunge at Orochimaru, he spat "You haven't given up, have you Orochimaru?"

Orochimaru chuckled. "What made you think I would stop?"

Before Sasuke could say or do anything in response, the sound of the girl stirring stopped him. He could see her back trembling slightly and her shoulders shake.

'She's alive.." Sasuke thought to himself, somewhat relieved that he wasn't alone.

As if on cue, Tazze's eyes snapped open and she gasped for air. Rushing to get up, she was stopped by numerous stabbing pains in her back and neck. Immediately, her hand reached back, searching for the cause of the pain. Her fingers grasped the senbon, preparing to pull it out.

"Hasty, are we?" Orochimaru said with a sadistic tone. "I'd think twice before pulling those out. Any wrong angle could lead to certain death. Just look at them." he motioned to the dead ANBU.

Tazze glared at Orochimaru, and her hands dropped to her lap forming fists. 'What do I do now?' she asked herself. She could feel the pain in her palms as her fingernails dug into her skin.

"Don't glare at me as such," Orochimaru seemed to say softly. "I did nothing to you. Why look at your companion; Sasuke-kun does not bear any wounds nor senbon in his back." Orochimaru let out a chuckle, "If anything, you should blame yourself, for it was your own weakness that landed you in this spot."

Tazze's fists trembled slightly as she tried to overcome her anger.

"You're smart not to challenge me girl" Orochimaru compliment her tolerance. "Maybe you can teach Sasuke-kun how to pick his fights... He seems to have a talent for fighting opponents that would very easily beat him to a pulp. Tell me, Sasuke-kun, have you won yet?"

Sasuke knew very well that he was talking about Itachi, and it made his blood boil. Everything else was silenced, and above Orochimaru's chuckle Sasuke could hear Tazze's cry, seemingly in the distance. He could hear her plead for Orochimaru to stop the anguish he as causing them. Orochimaru's voice sounded like a murmur, barely audible. Only five words were loud and clear to him. These words were what seemed to pull him out of the darkness he sank into.

"I will make you stronger."

Stronger. The keyword. That's what he desired above all else – Strength. He had not noticed it before, but Tazze was quiet now. Even her attention was given to Orochimaru. Images of his last meeting with Itachi flashed before his mind's eye. Sure he could say he was only a kid then, but still a weakling. 'Is the difference between us any different now..' Sasuke thought to himself.

Doubt nipped at the back of his mind.

Tazze, similarly, could only think of the times when she was weak, which happened to seem like a lot. How could they think that I could ever be as strong as she, Tazze thought about her sister and the Akatsuki. Maliko is gifted with both bloodlines, while I am still trying to hone my skills with the Byakugan. The Hyuugas sent these ANBU to get Maliko.. could it be because she's strong? Or just mainly the point that she has the Byakugan.

Either way, they fear what she is capable of.

Tazze turned her head to look up at Sasuke. She was reminded of Itachi, and the memory of what happened in the Zetsumeikage Tower came back to her. Itachi was hurt trying to keep her safe. Tazze blamed herself. Slowly, she was becoming convinced that she was indeed weak, and maybe this man could help her.

Slowly she stood up, and with determination in her eyes, looked at Orochimaru. "Fine. We'll go with you." Reaching to her neck, Tazze plucked at a senbon. It felt uncharacteristic for Tazze to be forceful, well she thought she was being just a little forceful. Either way, she knew that Sasuke would not object to her agreement on both of their parts.

A sadistic smile curled onto Orochimaru's face. He did not think it would be that easy to convince them to come with him.

Hyuuga Maliko and Uchiha Itachi would be his.

* * *

A/N OH MY GOD! i'm so sorry... this took well over a week to finish and i swears.. i swears on.. .on the PRECIOUS! That I will try my fricken hardest to become faster.. jesus i'm so sorry! .. i hope that at least some of u care... otherwise i'm just making a jackass outta myself.. anyways! Hope u liked the chap! Gimme motivation and love with reviews!

Abayo!

Eternel Annoyance Malitia


	33. New Moon

A/N – just hope i can finish this sooner than the last...

read on!

* * *

Chapter 33 - New Moon

The night wore on to early morning and Itachi couldn't find any clues that would've lead them in the direction of Tazze. Although Sasuke was weak in Itachi's eyes, he sure was thorough. The older Uchiha was becoming frustrated with not being able to catch even the slightest snapped twig or crushed leaf.

It was by the most purest of chance that the group came across a blood splattered clearing that held uncountable senbon that protruded from the ground and three unfortunate Konoha ANBU.

Aysen was the first to stumble into the clearing, surveying the damage, she was about to whistle to get the others attention, but stopped when she spotted a mediocre sized pool of blood, obviously not from the ANBU because it was farther away. Her stomach clenched with uneasiness when she realized that it might be Tazze's, and although it was just a small patch of blood, it wasn't a reassuring thought to know that Tazze was hurt.

A swirl of sand circled beside her and Gaara appeared, looking at the blood on the ground. Aysen was about to speak but Gaara beat her to it, his voice scarily stern.

"Maliko will not know of this. Its too little for her to worry about..." his eyes traveled upward to look into her own. "..Understand?"

Aysen nodded hesitantly and watched as sand leaked from his gourd and covered the blood on the ground, immediately soaking it up.

No more than a minute passed before Maliko came bounding into the clearing.

"Oi! Did you guys find any th-" her voice trailed off when she saw the three dead ANBU. Her pale eyes flitted across the clearing, seemingly looking at every single senbon that dug into the ground. "..These were the ANBU that took Tazze. There's one missing though..."

Looking up to Gaara, her worried eyes seemed to plead for answers.

"We dont know what happened, but at least we know she's not dead or hurt." He chanced a glance to Aysen, who was gazing at the ground intently.

Maliko sighed sadly. "You're right... Let's continue."

Gaara nodded and whistled for Itachi, who appeared moments later.

* * *

Tazze and Sasuke seemed to create a sort of bond on the trek to Orochimaru's village. Though they didn't talk much, they were both glad to have someone with them in this.

Tazze felt the menacing air about Orochimaru back in the clearing and hoped to save herself. The senbon that had been removed from her neck by Sasuke were proof enough that Orochimaru wasn't merciful at all. The Hyuuga was frightened that if she didn't agree to come with him, he would surely kill her, and not wanting to be alone during the whole ordeal, had hoped to bring Sasuke with her.

Although it does sound quite selfish, she had actually saved his life. Though Sasuke was strong, he stood no chance against the Legendary Sannin. It was either come willingly and unharmed, or be beaten and dragged to the Sound.

So those thoughts landed them here, following behind Orochimaru and flanked from the back by the other two Sound nins. Trees whizzing by at an ungodly speed, as Orochimaru pressed farther on, hoping to make it to the Sound without the appearance of an angry group of siblings.

He didn't want them here just yet.

When Tazze had been taken by the group of Konoha ANBU, she had thought nothing but spitefulness and hate towards the captain. But since Orochimaru came, her anger towards Sasuke receded drastically.

Not only did he carefully remove the senbon from her neck and back, but he had helped her to keep up with the group, not wanting Orochimaru to get angry with her for lagging behind and possibly killing her. As much as Tazze needed him, he needed her. He needed someone there with him who felt the same as him and someone who was about to go through the same ordeal too.

* * *

Darkness came swiftly after a long day of searching. Everyone was exhausted, seemingly beyond repair. That is.. everyone except Maliko.

The vibrant haired girl had wanted to keep searching, even after dark. Gaara almost didn't have the energy to carry her, kicking and screaming, to the small camp Aysen had set up in the clearing where they had moved the dead ANBU from hours before.

Itachi and Aysen fell into a blissful slumber as soon as their bodies hit the ground by the fire. Unfortunately, sleep didn't come so easily to Maliko. After tossing and turning on the uncomfortable ground for what seemed like hours she decided to give up. Gaara left no explanation as to why, but when Itachi and Aysen had fallen asleep, he had gazed up at the full moon, stating that he was going for a walk and for her to stay there... He hadn't returned since.

Maliko knew that he could very well handle himself, so she wasn't worried. Obviously he just needed time to himself. She did miss his company though, but as she thought about it, she found the good part of him being gone.

She could resume searching without interruption.

Glancing once more towards the others sleeping on the ground, she bounded as quietly as she could out of the clearing but not before picking up her staff. Maliko strolled through the trees rather leisurely, finally feeling the impact of the days exertion in her muscles. Try as she may, it was too hard to look for clues in the dark, and although the full moon provided light, it just didn't provide enough.

Sighing slightly, she decided to just keep going. Nothing ever got accomplished by just sitting around after all.

".. What are you doing?"

She quickly whipped around to come face to face with a very rugged looking Gaara. His red hair was messed and fell scraggly across his forehead as his eyes looked at her intently. She could barely find her voice under the pressure of his stare.

"Ano..I was just.. t-taking a walk-"

"I thought I told you to stay at the camp." He snapped, not bothering to keep his voice down.

"I got bored.. and I was restless." she hesitantly replied back.

"It's not safe out here. Go back to the camp and get some sleep." Gaara ordered sternly.

"Although i'm not as capable as you, I can still defend myself Gaara.."

"He thirsts for blood when the moon is new... You said it yourself, you're not as capable as me." she looked at him, confused as his features became feral.

"He?.. What are you talking abou-" She wasn't able to suppress the yelp she made when cold sand started to snake around her ankle, crawling up her legs and immobilizing her on the spot.

"G-Gaara! Stop!" she yelled. "What are you doing!"

He didn't make any move to stop so she quickly ran thoughts through her head, trying to process a way out of this situation.

Since he had her legs bound, she couldn't use the Kaiten to get the sand away and he wasn't within arms reach she couldn't hit him with the gentle fist to shock him.

But.. he was within her staffs reach.

Quickly grabbing her staff from its secure spot on her back, she swung at him as hard as she could before the sand could curl around her arms.

This all didn't go unnoticed as Gaara swiftly grasped the end of the staff with his hand, glaring at her with pure blood lust.

'What the hell is the matter with him? Is he really that mad that I didn't obey his order to stay at camp!' she thought, finally feeling the seriousness of the situation. The sand around her legs was tightening, slowly cutting off circulation from her hips down.

Gaara kept a firm hold of her staff, his hand gripping onto the black rings near the tip of it, and she realized she had not other way of shocking him out of this trance.

Quickly placing the tips of her four fingers underneath her left eye, she yelled "Kai! Barakkugan!"

Immediately she felt chakra flare to her left eye as the seal released and let her bloodline free. Looking to his hand on her staff, she studied the cells and tissue in it and analyzed how much power should be used to shock him but not damage anything seriously.

After figuring it out as fast as she could, she pumped chakra through her arm to the five black rings on her staff. As soon as the black chakra hit them, she saw his hand clench on her staff from the pain and after he couldn't take it anymore he ripped the staff out of her hands and threw it to the side.

He took a second to recover from the burning in his hand before he was lunging at her now defenseless form, angry that she had hurt him. This wasn't Gaara at all.

When he was not more that one step away from her, he stopped abruptly. His hands flew to his head as he doubled over, growling in pain. The sand tightened considerably around her body as his hands gripped his hair, his body trembling from something she couldn't understand..

As soon as it had started, it ended. Gaara now knelt on the ground breathing heavily. The sand fell from her body and she tried to walk over to Gaara. Her legs had been denied blood for too long and were now numb, causing her to crumple to the ground in front of Gaara.

"Did I... "

His voice was quiet, barely hearable, but she could still hear him.

"Did I hurt you?" His voice was laced with shame as he kept his head down, not daring to look at her.

"Ah.. I'm fine Gaara. What was that all about.. and is your hand alright?" He looked at his hand that was slightly charred from the burn she had given him, and after realizing what happened, looked up at her, his gaze solely on her left eye.

"I must have done something harsh for you to unseal it" he proclaimed as he brought his non-injured hand to her face, trailing his thumb over the different sized dots beneath her left eye.

"Iie. It was merely a precaution." She replied quietly, blushing from the contact. "Now are you going to tell me why you snapped all of a sudden?"

"Shukaku"

"Shukaku?"

"The Sand Priest inside me. A Tanuki from the Sand. He gets bloodthirsty on new moons and I can't control him most of the time." explained Gaara, sorely guilty that he had hurt the one he had sworn to protect.

"Well then, I'll engrave that into my memory, and never cross your path again on a full moon."

Gaara was shocked by her cheeriness. He thought she would've been anything but happy. This girls emotions were so unpredictable it made his head spin.

He gave a slight smirk and seeing this she blushed once more, hoping the darkness hid it. She quickly ran her index finger horizontally over her left eye and muttered "Seal", making her eye go back to its normal white, with the black slash overtop of it.

"I say you lead me back to camp so I can clean up your hand." she exclaimed, flashing him the brightest smile he'd ever seen in the dark. Nodding, he took her hand in his and ignoring her blushing, lead her back, after grabbing her discarded staff, to the now dying fire and still sleeping nins on the ground.

* * *

A/n that was the hardest chapter i've ever written.. wtf.. it was so hard! i absolutely didn't know what to put. This story is getting harder and harder..-sigh-.. hoped you liked tho. I loved the reviews so i just had to hurry and finish this tonite.. so yaay happy May month.. hoped u liked the present of Chapter 33. Review for love!

Abayo

Malitia


	34. Arrival

A/N – welp.. sorry this took so long.. i thought terri was gonna write this chap but...she never did.. -sigh- such unreliability these days... haha jk. Damn.. i got stuck with another hard chap! Kami.. why me.

Read on!

* * *

Chapter 34 – Arrival.

When Gaara and Maliko had made it back, she quickly went about, grabbing clean water and bandages while Gaara took a seat by the fire, watching her stumble ungracefully around the camp. She sure as hell was clumsy, but for some reason, it appealed to Gaara. Who wanted someone who was perfect anyways. It would only remind you of every single one of your own flaws.

Once she had found everything she needed, she seated herself in front of Gaara and took his injured hand into hers and pored clean water over it. Looking up to see if he was in pain, she noticed that he didn't even flinch. 'Maybe hes too slow to even process that hes hurt.'

"The ability to char someones flesh. It's indeed frightening." He commented through his indifference, while scrutinizing his own hand.

"Iie. It's not really charring you're hand. It's morely making pinpointed cells die. Rotting is a better word.. I just didn't use enough chakra to do that to you." She stopped cleaning his hand to grab the bandages, and began wrapping it around his wrist. "I didn't want to hurt you, but I had to shock you somehow."

"Hm.."

Maliko giggled. Although he made it sound like he didn't care, she knew he would get some happiness from it. After all, the man was a lonely being that didn't have really anyone that cared about him. His cold heart would surely feel some warmth from her words.

She finally finished, and began to put away the supplies. Hopping over Itachi's and Aysen's sleeping forms she made her way back to Gaara and dropped down right infront of him.

Not a word was exchanged as she sat there, staring at him. Gaara couldn't really read her expression and therefore didn't know that she was thinking about Shukaku.

Her eyes flitted over the dark rings around his green eyes and up to the 'Ai' kanji that rested underneath his vibrant red hair.

Gaara quirked an eyebrow at her, questioning her solemn features.

"What are you thinking about?" he asked curiously. He could tell she was in deep thought.

"Nothing.." She wouldn't let it known, but she was somewhat shocked to hear about the demon-priest inside him. She knew he had a rough childhood, and that his father thought he was dangerous so he tried to kill him, but she never thought that he would have been something so farfetched as a human sacrifice, made to hold a powerful demon.

"You're lying.. Tell me." Gaara ordered watching as her form tensed.

"..Why didn't you tell me about Shukaku before?"

Gaara was silent for a moment, unsure of what to say. "...I didn't know how you would react..."he hesitated while looking at the ground. "It was.. somewhat pleasing to have someone to argue with without them being afraid of Shukaku taking control and killing them."

Maliko smirked at this and brought her hand up to run through and ruffle the cherry colored hair, earning a glare from those dark rimmed eyes.

"Why would I be afraid of such a wimp. I'd beat you to a pulp if Shukaku took control." Gaara chuckled at this.

"Whatever you think baka." Mocked Gaara, noticing the yawn that came from Maliko he decided she better call it a night.

"Go to sleep.. We gotta continue searching tomorrow." exclaimed Gaara quietly.

"I'm not tired..." Maliko muttered defiantly as she crossed her arms and made a pouty face, watching Gaara rise from his spot in front of her. He went over to her pack and grabbed her blanket and brought it back over to her, draping it over her shoulders.

"Go to sleep anyways."

He became confused when she blushed furiously and let her gaze fall to her hands.

She spoke softly. "Will you... lay here with me?" He silently inquired about this with another quirk of his eyebrow.

"I..I'm not used to sleeping away from Tazze and I don't feel very secure with her not here, and not a room away." Right now she didn't know where Tazze was and it unnerved her. Usually Tazze was just a room away, in a safe place where Maliko needn't worry.

"You know I don't sleep.."

"I'm not asking you to sleep.. just lay here with me.." she proclaimed pleadingly.

Gaara sighed. "Alright.." Maliko beamed at this and held the blanket up so he could crawl under beside her.

Gaara layed down on his back and folded his arms behind his head to act as a pillow and Maliko beamed, silently thanking Gaara for complying with her wishes.

His eyes slid shut making it seem like a mock sleep but not slipping into unconsciousness. Paying no mind to the shuffling beside him, he wondered why he cared if she was comfortable while sleeping. Was it the fact that she cared about him and he felt that he needed to do the same... No, it wasn't because of respectful duty that he did this. Even if she hadn't voiced her concern and care for him before, he still would've complied to lay here.

He loved the warmth that radiated from beside him and loved that she accepted him despite his many flaws.

'Maybe i'm just whipped..' he thought to himself.

Gaara's eyes snapped open when he felt a small weight lower on his chest. He was greeted with a tuft of messy orange hair. Maliko had rested her head on Gaara's chest, using him as a pillow and enjoying the soft thud of his heart in her ears. Letting out a content sigh, she closed her weary eyes and welcomed the darkness.

As if it came naturally, Gaara placed once of his arms around her waist and let his fingers rest across her abdomen.

...He also loved the way she clutched his shirt when he put his arm around her and snuggled closely to him, as if she really needed him.

* * *

Tazze had become weary on the way to the Sound village. Her wounds in her back and neck were painfully distracting her from her usual motor skills. She was glad that Sasuke was there to help her keep up with the group.

"..Sasuke-kun.. How much longer?" she asked quietly to the man holding her up.

"We'll be there soon, just hold on alright?" replied Sasuke under his breath, not wanting the Sound nin to know that she was struggling.

".. Hai.." she managed to pant out.

Sasuke was right, they hadn't traveled more than ten more minutes before they made it to the large outside walls, signaling they had made it to the Sound village.

The group of five walked through the gates and Tazze couldn't help but get closer to Sasuke, clutching his arm as she shied away from the scrutinizing gazes of the villagers.

They were lead through the village and down a quiet street. They reached a small house with one window and one entrance. It looked rather small, but at least it wasn't grungy and dilapidated.

"This will be your home from now on. I will start training tomorrow afternoon regardless if your wounds are healed or not, so you might as well clean up and rest..." Tazze couldn't help but notice the slightly disgusted look Orochimaru gave her as his eyes flitted over her dusty and bloodied form.

"Be ready by noon. Know that if you try to leave here, my forces will bring you back. And none to gently.."

Sasuke nodded and proceeded to help Tazze into the small hut, helping her sit on one of the beds inside. When he took his arm from around her, he noticed that his sleeve was caked with blood. Glancing to the back of her robe, he found it to be soaked with the red liquid as well. Whipping off his shirt he walked over to a sink and ran some water, scrubbing at the bloodstains.

"Take off your robe and shirt." he ordered her from across the room. He watched as her featured went from clueless to fearful.

"W-What!"

"You're bleeding. You're clothes are stained with blood and I need you to take them off so I can wash off your back and neck... You can hold the blanket over you if you're self-counscious."

"Oh...gomen.." she apologized while blushing, she didn't know why she was. Maybe she blushed from seeing Sasuke without his shirt on. He lean muscles and pale flawless skin was to die for.

She painfully began to take off her robe and shirt, wincing as she peeled them away from her back. As soon as they were off, she quickly grabbed for the sheet on the bed and held it infront of her before Sasuke could see her.

Sasuke came up behind her with a cloth and basin and began to wipe away the dried blood from her back muscles, letting the clothe run smoothly across her well sculpted shoulder blades. She winced every time he went over one of the puncture holes but he paid it no mind.

"Listen." he began. "Don't let Orochimaru give you the curse seal. If he tries to bite your neck, quickly run to me. You'll surely die if he places it on you."

"Curse Seal! What is it?"

"Its a seal that allows you to tap into a large amount of chakra and become powerful for a limited about of time." replied Sasuke as he began to bandage over her now clean back.

"How do you know about such a thing?" Tazze questioned curiously.

"I was given the same seal when I was twelve.. during a Chuunin exam."

"But you didn't die?" she questioned rhetorically. "Why would I die when you did not."

"You're much weaker than I was..." It wasn't meant to sound harsh, but his matter of fact tone broke her defenses.

"...Oh.." She had to fight back the tears. Did everyone think that she was weak and useless?

"Don't worry about it... Now get some rest and let your body heal. I don't doubt that we'll have a rough day ahead of us." She nodded and after pulling a clean shirt over her head, climbed into bed, while Sasuke did the same.

* * *

A/N – Again another useless chapter.. but i thought I'd add some fluff in there.. ku ku ku.. sorry bout that.. i never expected to be doing this chapter.. -sigh- just for that, i'm gonna send a mailful of anthrax to terri's house. Ku ku ku... ahahah anyways.. review with love and eyeballs!

Abayo

Malitia


	35. There's no need

A/N:

Terri Anthrax! Guh….well, at least I know who to blame when I do get this elusive parcel! okay, well, in my defense, u just said, could u write the next chapter….and I said, maybe…it was a definite yes or no….plus, Naruto Eps! Ah, I watched up to episode 30 ahahahaha wow….some of it was good…but so much repetition, guh….still loved it tho!

Okay, so this chapter may also be a whole load of nothing ahahah…well no delay!

Melissa Punching people in the throat! Ahhh .. for some reason i have the fetish to see that lately.. i donno.. anyways.. Terri made this chapter so00o0o short.. so a lot of it is just added in from where she left off and such.. i'm sure you'll prly realize where i started because it will become crappier but you know what! thats just... shut up!

Ku ku ku

anyways

read on!

* * *

Chapter 35 – There's no need.

Morning found Gaara lounging comfortably by a nearby tree with a sleeping Maliko beside him. Just as the morning light began to cast its glow on the fading darkness of night, Gaara decided to shift Maliko off of his chest and slip out from under the blanket. Frankly, he was none too sure how to explain this to Itachi nor did he want to put Maliko into a similar situation with Aysen. He knew that Itachi wouldn't really say much, but would opt for giving him that oh so annoying curious and shocked look. They would be getting up soon, and their search would once again continue.

With the four of them searching, their odds of finding Tazze were slim. Gaara's emerald eyes laid upon a spot of dirt that was blood-stained. He never knew how dependent the two girls were on one another, until last night. The fact that Maliko was actually scared to sleep by herself was proof enough. He could understand Tazze being dependant on Maliko, but he didn't think that Maliko had an equal need for Tazze, beyond just sisterhood. Then again it did make sense. They were the only family they had left and maybe the closest of friends too.

A movement from the small campsite attracted his attention. Itachi sat up, and let his crimson eyes gaze over the two girls. "We need to wake them soon."

Gaara nodded, as he rose to his feet. As he walked around the small site, he voiced his thoughts on the situation, "It would be pointless for the four of us to continue on our own. I'm sure you have realized this already."

Itachi got out from under his covering, and began to pack them away. "That's why we're going to Konoha."

Gaara stopped in his tracks for a moment, and looked at Itachi. Before Gaara could question his plans, Itachi continued. "They're going to be missing their Anbu. Anytime this morning, they will realize that their mission may have failed. Konoha would have been expecting their Anbu last night. Already they are probably impatient, and soon will become doubtful. Another team will be sent."

"They might think that we killed their Anbu..." Gaara pointed out.

"Yes," Itachi admitted, "But there is one team member missing. One corpse short. They will be just as lost as we are; the body of an Anbu holds many secrets, just as any other shinobi. Besides, I have a feeling that this may be _his_ doing."

* * *

A small creak from the floor awoke Tazze. Slowly, she rolled onto her back, brushing stray hairstrands away from her face. It took almost everything in her to stay on her back as the shooting pains made themselves known. Trying to keep her eyes open, she could see Sasuke through the dark, standing over her bed.

"Sasuke?" She asked curiously. She tried mustering all the strength she could, but still failed to move. The look in Sasuke's eyes began to frighten her – almost like killing intent; hatred.

In a moments flash, Sasuke's hands were gripped tight around her throat. She tried furiously to resist, to fight back, but couldn't. She was frozen still. Darkness was beginning to cloud her mind. As she blinked, trying to get a clear focus, her eyes stopped to gaze at her attacker.

Tazze could feel her heart freeze in her chest. Her mind was screaming 'Why!'.. The question she could not utter but only say in her mind, hoping he could see it in her eyes.

Itachi's crimson eyes, not Sasuke's as she had first thought, stared back, apathetically into hers, as if waiting for her life to drain.

"There's no need to keep you around. You are weak and I benefit not from your presence." he finally said in a chillingly calm voice.

A sharp pain in her back.

Tazze pushed herself up quickly, gasping for air. 'A dream, it was only a dream.' she thought to herself, 'But it felt so real..' her fingers came up to her neck where moments ago it felt like Itachi's strong hands tried to pry her life away

Her eyes dropped down to gaze at her pillow. She followed through her dream in her head, while she still remembered it. Maybe Itachi was right. What use did he have for a weak companion... Infact, what use did anyone have for a weak companion. Not only is it a burden to protect them, but there is no need for them, they can't do much of anything without assistance.

Who wanted to live life knowing that they're not needed and there existence is troubling to others.

She sighed as she pushed herself up to a sitting position with her legs folded beneath her and the blankets pushed to the foot of the bed. Tazze thought for another moment about the dream, then sighed in relief. 'Itachi had said it himself, he is my guardian... What kind of guardian would kill the one they swore to protect..'

But this alone did not cancel out her sorrow of not being needed by anyone.

So far she had only accomplished in making her sister worry for her wellbeing; her safety, and wasted Itachi's and Gaara's time by having to look for her. Kami, she couldn't even put up a fight against three sound nin. She had lowered herself to accepting assistance from a man she didn't even know, hoping he would show her a way to become strong. A man whose eyes were laced with killing intent and had blatantly attacked her. But the thought of why Orochimaru even agreed to train her weak self was still a large question that occupied her troubled mind.

Tazze was so deep in thought that she never gave notice to Sasuke as he walked towards her. When she did not answer him when he called her name, he reached out to touch her shoulder.

"Oi.." he said to her as he gently pushed her shoulder, trying to get her attention.

Startled by his touch, Tazze quickly turned around to find Sasuke standing next to her bed. Fear gripped at her chest as she jolted back away from him.

As her hand reached back to support her, she just missed the edge of the bed. Quickly she tried to grab something to stop her from falling, in which she managed. Unfortunately though, all she managed to grab was a pillow. She could only watch as the pillow fell with herself to the floor. The feeling of falling made Tazze let out a small yelp. Her legs flipped off the bed as blankets flew through the air.

As she landed on her back, she didn't know which pain to be concerned about. Her damaged pride or her searing back and neck.

Flinging long brown hair out of her face, she struggled to rise to a sitting position on the floor.

"Itai.." she said quietly to herself.

"...That was graceful.." Sasuke finally said after watching amusedly, "And you're supposed to be a ninja?"

Forgetting all about her dream and previous fear of him, she yelled back. "You startled me!" A small pout came to her lips and she turned to Sasuke. She thought that he would've been annoyed or angered by her yelling at him, but much to her surprise, he had a small smirk of amusement on his face. Seeing this, all she could do was smile sheepishly back. Now that she thought about it, she knew she must have looked ridiculous.

What a way to start the day..

"How's your back?" he asked, a little bit more serious now.

"Oh," Tazze thought for a second. "Actually, its a lot better." she said, hoping that he didn't notice her lying.

"Good, Orochimaru will be expecting us in a while."

"What!" Tazze demanded, obviously shocked. "Why didn't you wake me earlier?" Tazze sprang to her feet, ignoring her protesting back. Grabbing her blanket, she rolled it up and tossed it at the foot of the bed.

"Look, it wouldn't have done you any good, going to train while in your condition," Sasuke told her.

Tazze stopped as she was in the middle of tidying her bed. With pillow still in hand, her grip tightened. "_My_ condition!" Tazze questioned Sasuke, her back still turned to him.

"I thought you would be able to keep up with the training if you weren't held back by your injuries." he replied back, in a matter of fact tone.

"Well, I think I know what I am capable of," Tazze said forcefully, trying to keep her anger suppressed. She put the pillow down, then reached for the set of clothes next to her bed.

"You could barely keep up with Orochimaru and his Sound nins on the way here," Sasuke prompted, "So what makes you think today will be any different... You need more rest."

"Well, firstly...turn around," Tazze instructed Sasuke as she was getting ready to change before the Sound nins came to get them. He rolled is eyes in annoyance as he turned around... What did it matter she still had a shirt on, then bandages, and she was turned around herself..

"I'm not so weak that I am utterly helpless Sasuke.. Besides, you aren't so different from me. Compared to Itachi, you're just as weak as I am."

As soon as those words left Tazze's lips, Sasuke whipped around, anger burning in his eyes. It was then that he noticed the large patch of fresh blood on her bandages. Her wounds must have opened when she fell off the bed. He was just about to say something to her, but a stern knock at the door averted his attention, and also surprised Tazze. Quickly, she slipped on a plain shirt and turned to see who was at the door.

The two Sound Jounin from yesterday entered the small house, which was barely the size of the hotel room she had shared with Itachi before. Tazze slipped her now clean robe on as the Jounin gave instructions to them and exchanged words with Sasuke, who was inquiring about Orochimaru and their training.

Tazze brushed past Sasuke disdainfully, following the Jounin out. As she passed him she quickly said in a low voice,

"I don't need you to care about me."

She was determined to become stronger and more capable. The only way she could think of doing so was to rely on herself and only herself.

As Sasuke watched her follow the Jounin, a small look of anger flashed across his features. Almost slamming the shouji door behind him, he followed after the three towards a clearing where Orochimaru waited.

* * *

A/N o0o0o0 the Drama! The lecherous children liked this chapter.. for some reason... those damn lechers, always peering over my shoulder. I think i feel some animosity from Tazze towards Sasuke ne! I'll try to update soon.. and probably sooner with motivation. Feed the Lecherous Children reviews and they will poke and prod me til i update! Kya!

Abayo

Malitia & Eternal Annoyance


	36. Konoha

An - ...Ahem... sorry! I was gone for two weeks to Europe and well... lets just say.. i didn't have any paper on me.. but despite that fact, i thought over the plot for most of the trip cus it was somewhat annoying and boring... So anyways, i think i got the plot down.. now to put it into words.. I'm so sorry for not notifying about my absence (for those who care if this story is updated or not)

Gomen!

I won't keep you waiting any longer..

Read on!

* * *

Chapter 36 – Konoha

"Maliko.. Wake up.." Gaara lightly shook Maliko's shoulders as she lay sprawled on the ground, drooling in bliss.

"Hnn.. No Gaara.. more sleep." she replied sternly without opening her eyes, but grabbing onto Gaara's arm and jerking him to the ground so she could snuggle with it.

"Baka! I said wake up!" he said louder, lightly punching her in the arm. Immediately her eyes snapped open and glared daggers at the man on the ground beside her.

"Don't punch me you ass!" yelled Maliko as she punch him back, using her full force on his arm. Gaara reared back, ready to retaliate when Itachi decided to intervene, Aysen behind him.

"Don't you children think that we should be going?" the Uchiha questioned sounding much more mature than the squabbling couple on the ground.

"... Where are we going?" Maliko asked hesitantly watching as Gaara's eyes flickered from her to Itachi in a determined way.

"Konoha." Itachi answered making it sound indifferent.

"WHAT?" Maliko was now on her feet with her hands clenched by her sides. "Are you stupid! They'll take me for interrogation again! Do you know what that feels like!"

"Will you just list-"

"They prodded me with needles and beat me around like a ragdoll! No way in hell am I going there-"

"You know, if you would just let me fini-"

"They'd probably go so far as to kill me this time! They're evil with their false accusations and quick to take action attitud- Ah!"

Maliko was cut off when she was tripped to the ground by Gaara. Using her sudden shock as an advantage, he clamped his hand over her mouth and held her tightly so she would listen to Itachi.

"There... continue Itachi."

Itachi rolled his eyes and began to speak.

"As I was saying.. We're going to Konoha and we're going to bring them back the bodies of their villagers over there." he pointed to the three unfortunate nins that still had senbon protruding from multiple places on their body. "Hopefully they'll see it as a sign of peace that instead of stealing secrets about their village from the bodies, we returned them. We will offer them help and by helping them, we also get help to retrieve our comrade as well as theres.."

Gaara took his hand from Maliko's mouth seeing that Itachi was done.

"But what if they don't see it as a sign of peace and decide to capture me again?" She asked, worriedly.

"You have us to protect you.." Itachi replied.

"... Thats reassuring.." she stated while looking to the side, her words dripping with sarcasm.

"Too bad, thats how things are going. So get ready to go. We leave in half an hour." Itachi proclaimed. He then walked over to the three dead nins and began pulling the senbon from their bodies so they could carry them.

"...Hasty bastard..." Maliko muttered under her breath. She quickly began to put her sleeping gear away and was ready to go in half an hour, as was everyone else.

"Alright, everyone pick a body. Maliko and Aysen can switch off carrying one." said the Uchiha, picking up one of the bloody nins and stood, waiting for the others. Gaara and Maliko then picked up the other ones and they all started on their way to Konoha with Aysen carrying their packs to make the travel less hard for them.

They traveled for half the day before reaching Konoha. It was close to sunset as the four neared the gates to the village. Maliko was now carrying everyones packs while Itachi, Gaara, and Aysen carried the dead nins.

Once they reached the gate, six Konoha nins were already infront in fighting stances.

"What's your business here and why do you carry the dead of Konoha!" one yelled.

"We wish to speak to the Godaime Hokage on peaceful terms. She may have as many guards as she wants for the meeting, but it is of absolute importance that she sees us." Itachi proclaimed, standing in front of Maliko, acting as a shield against the Konoha nins.

The Jounin that had spoke to them turned to another beside him and nodded, a gesture to inform the Hokage. Meanwhile the remaining five scrutinized the group before them.

"Why do you carry three of Konoha's men, all of whom are obviously dead?" the Jounin continued.

"We happened upon them in our search for one of our own comrades. They were dead when we got there."

"Thats hard to believe coming from Uchiha Itachi.." The nin said, obviously trying to overstep his bounds. Before anything could be taken to a more violent level, the Godaime Hokage appeared through the gates with Kotetsu and Izumo by her side.

"Who is it that wishes to speak to me so urgently?" she asked, sounding somewhat annoyed at being disturbed.

"Tsunade. I wish to speak with you on peaceful terms. It appears that you are missing one of your comrades, as are we." Itachi spoke swiftly and surely, not letting any hesitation show.

Tsunade eyed him carefully before turning her gaze to the three dead nins slung over their shoulders and then to a familiar head that peaked out from behind Itachi.

"You!" Tsunade yelled to the obviously frightened girl. Maliko squeaked and quickly ran behind Gaara and clutched his cloak for security.

"You come here with one of the girls that attempted an assassination on the Hokage of this village and wish for peace!" She spat out with malice towards the group.

"She never attempted an assassination on you. The Kazekage planned it so it seemed that way, predicting you would drive them out towards him.. He had plans for the two girls that you did not know of. They were innocent the whole time." spoke Gaara finally.

"And how do you know about this? For what I know, you're a missing nin.."

"I was there at the time that this all occurred, watching over the planning and waiting for the time when they came so I could leave the village with them. It's too complicated to get into it at this time as we hope to get to the problem at hand." The red haired man explained with two wide white eyes peeking over his shoulder.

"Alright, and how do you know that we are missing a comrade? Was there a letter left behind? Or maybe this is all a ploy to gain our trust? For what I know, the Akatsuki still seeks Naruto and the Kyuubi." She asked eyeing each and every one of them.

"Your ANBU captured a girl from our group. We trailed after them and found these three nin and according to her." Itachi jerked his head in Maliko's direction. "there were four ANBU that came and took the other Hyuuga girl. As for the Akatsuki, Gaara and I are no longer a part of that.''

"What made you decide to leave." she questioned haughtily.

"We wished to train the two girls our own way, without limitations or rules that needed to be followed provided by a leader that only wanted them for power."

Tsunade once again eyed him, hoping to see a slight sign of him lying on his stone set apathetic face. After a few minutes of silence as she scrutinized them she finally said.

"Put the bodies down, I wish to see who his missing."

The three did so immediately and as the Godaime looked over them, Maliko noticed her become tense. She muttered a curse before speaking again.

"The ANBU captain I assigned, Uchiha Sasuke, is missing."

Maliko quickly looked to Itachi curiously. 'A relative of his?' She noticed as he frowned at this news.

"Then my predictions may be correct as of whose behind all this."

"Who might that be?" Tsunade asked, eager to know of someone that could possibly defeat Sasuke or set him astray.

"Orochimaru,"

"What! If thats true, why would he take the other Hyuuga girl?" the Godaime asked hurriedly, hungry for answers.

"While at the Akatsuki, he was noticed by Maliko and Gaara as he was plotting with a traitor of the group. He of course seeks powerful shinobi, bloodlines, and ninjutsu to benefit him. He found Sasuke and an unsealed Byakugan holder, daughter of the Zetsumeikage. Theres no doubt he would pounce on the opportunity." Itachi stated matter of factly.

Maliko's stomach sunk with this information. Her beloved sister was with Orochimaru, they man that had ordered their mother killed. Did Tazze forget his face or was she taken forcefully. These questions filled her mind with all the possibilities of what would happen to her or if she was even still alive. Darkness began to fog her mind, and before she blacked out, she felt a pair of arms wrap around her and a familiar voice yelling her name, seemingly in the distance.

* * *

An - Ahem.. a lot of talking but.. it had to be done.. -sigh-.. anyways finally updated, and once again.. sorry for the wait! Review!

Abayo

Malitia


	37. Confrontation

Chapter 37 – Confrontation

"You think you could've been a bit more subtle Itachi?" muttered Gaara as he gently laid Maliko on the ground. He figured she would black out if she found out about her sister leaving with Orochimaru. That's why he had kept that bit of information from her in the first place.

"She had to hear it sometime.." replied Itachi, apathetic to the certain happenings.

All eyes were now on the orange haired girl on the ground. Tsunade commented on this.

"Why is she so concerned about it!" Her cold demeanor due to the fact that she was still wary of the girl, not fully trusting that Gaara's story from before was true.

"You of all people should know they're sisters. But, shes probably more worried about the fact that its Orochimaru shes with." Gaara sighed and looked to Maliko beside him. "While with the Akatsuki, Orochimaru had ordered their mother and their whole village killed. She most likely figures her sister doesn't stand a chance. Which she probably doesn't seeing as she wouldn't really stand a chance against anyone..." This caused Itachi to shoot him a slight glare. Gaara chose to ignore it though.

"So what do you expect us to do then?" Tsunade asked, crossing her arms across her vast chest.

"We merely seek assistance. Leaving both Tazze and Sasuke would not benefit you in the slightest..." Gaara began, rising from his kneeling position beside Maliko.

"Orochimaru now holds both of Konoha's most prominent bloodlines. If Orochimaru gets the chance to use both of them, there won't be much anyone can do to stop him from coming here to try and crush Konoha once again." Itachi finished, still managing to keep his cool.

"True enough, but we are by no means, ready to take on such a challenge right at this moment. Time is needed for planning and information gathering." Tsunade finally came to the real realization of the situation now. Itachi and Gaara were right. Konoha would surely perish if everything was left as it was. Itachi was said to rival Orochimaru's powers, so of course, it would be good to have him on their side, and Gaara could easily wipe out numerous Sound nin.

"We never expected to leave so quickly. We want some time to train these two." replied Itachi motioning to Aysen and Maliko. "Which is why we will need to speak to Hyuuga Hiashi..."

"Hiashi? Do you have any idea how furious he is about those twins? I would think you would want to keep clear of him and his household." said Tsunade, confusion evident in her features.

"Not necessarily." answered Itachi, not seemingly fazed with what she said. "Do you agree with our alliance? If not we'll take our leave.."

"Hai, theres nothing much else I can do to retrieve Sasuke than accept your proposition. You do know more about the situation than me anyways. But if there is even a hint of betrayal, I will kill you myself." Tsunade said, sighing with slight frustration. She shifting from her spot in the center of the gates and held out her hand, motioning them into the village. "If you would please hand over our men, I will show you to the Hyuuga compound."

Three nins from beside Tsunade took the dead bodies from Itachi, Gaara, and Aysen and disappeared through the gate. Gaara bent down and picked up Maliko bridal style. As he looked her over while shifting her in his arms he could tell she was exhausted and wouldn't be waking anytime soon.

They all followed Tsunade and her two remaining guards through the dark streets of Konoha towards the Hyuuga compound. Gaara was eased by the fact that there weren't any villagers out at this time of night to stare at them. He wasn't quite ready for the cold stares people would give him again.

When they reached the compound, they were greeted with two wary Branch House Hyuuga's guarding the front gate. It was agreed that Itachi would go to talk to Hiashi and Tsunade would go with him to show any late night wandering Hyuuga's that he was there on peaceful terms. Tsunade's two guards led the remaining three to a small apartment where they would be staying until the time came to retrieve Tazze and Sasuke.

When they got there Aysen immediately collapsed onto a single bed in a room just off to the side from the entrance. There was another bed in that room so Gaara decided that the two girls could share. He could hear Aysen's deep breathing as soon as she hit the mattress. She must have never traveled as much as she did today since she stayed at the village for pretty much all her life.

As Gaara set Maliko onto the bed, he felt compelled to look at her content features. The only time he had really seen her so peaceful was when she was asleep. Ever since he and Itachi had took the twins, Gaara had noticed Maliko was tense. Always tense. Except in sleep. It made Gaara wonder if sleeping was something that could make all your pain go away, even if just for a few hours. It was all too complicated for him to think about.

With one last look at Maliko, he took his leave and went to the small living room. There was no use in him taking the master bedroom, so he would just lay on the couch and leave the last bed for Itachi. Speaking of which, Gaara was somewhat confused at why Itachi would even think of talking with Hyuuga Hiashi on peaceful terms. They hadn't discussed any part of the plan that would involve the Hyuuga's. What exactly did he have up his sleeve...

* * *

The intensity in the room was almost unbearable for Tsunade. Hiashi's heated glare and Itachi's apathetic nature surrounded her, making her frustrated to no end.

"Ahem.." Tsunade broke the silence, trying to get their attention. "Itachi has come here on peaceful terms with a wish to speak with you. If you would care to begin, I would like at least an ounce of sleep tonight." she tried to keep the animosity out of her voice.

Itachi nodded and looked back to the white eyed old man.

"You may not know this yet, but I am one of the two guardians of the unsealed Hyuuga twins that you have tried to take in the past." If anything, this only caused Hiashi to glare harder. "I wish for your permission for Hyuuga Maliko to be trained by one of the stronger Hyuuga's in your clan."

"If you wish for her to be trained by one of my own, I would have her Byakugan sealed so she will become one of the Branch members." he retorted with malice dripping from every word.

"That's not possible."

"Then the girl is not considered part of this clan, and shall not be trained as one." Hiashi replied, while crossing his arms.

"It would create much more problems for you if you did not accept." Itachi still managed to remain calm under the pressuring gaze of Hiashi's white eyes. Tsunade even felt compelled to look away from them. Her eyes flickered from man to man, suddenly dawning on what Itachi was getting at.

"Are you threatening me?" questioned Hiashi as he rose his voice.

"No more a threat than a warning. Orochimaru has the other twin; Tazze, as well as Sasuke. Taking just the two with special eyes most likely wasn't a coincidence. If you refuse to train Maliko, then it will delay us in getting to the Sound. Unless you suddenly don't care if a powerful traitor of Konoha learns the secrets of the Byakugan, then we can leave as is. But I highly doubt that. So I suggest you heed my wishes." It became awfully hard to keep a business like stature when he was talking about the consequences of what might happen to Tazze. He would never tell anyone, but he was growing increasingly lonely without her tender nature. Coming from a man who had lived alone since he was thirteen, that said a lot.

"Orochimaru... holds the Byakugan?" Tsunade could've swore she heard Hiashi's voice quiver.

"It is the girl's goals to live their lives free. So under no circumstances may I let you seal Maliko's Byakugan." 'Tazze would rather die than let that happen.' Itachi thought to himself. "Do you agree to train her so that she may better protect herself, her sisters, and your bloodline?"

There was a long silence in which Hiashi thought. His eyes closed in concentration. Without opening them, he nodded, feeling defeated.

"I will bring Maliko here in the morning then. Gaara will stay with her at all times to ensure no betrayal." Hiashi nodded again and Itachi and Tsunade got up and left, heading out the courtyard gates. Tsunade took a short walk with Itachi to show him where the apartment was.

"That took a lot of guts..." She proclaimed, feeling uncomfortable with Itachi's silent and distant self.

"It needed to be done." was his blunt reply.

"It appears that you seem to be going through a lot for these girls..." Itachi's pace slowed a tiny bit, as thought wanting to fully hear what the Hokage was going to say. "Could it be that this Tazze girl has captured your affection?" Tsunade asked teasingly.

"No." His quick answer was proof enough. Tsunade smirked as she looked away from Itachi to the sky. She may have wanted to ease some of her tension with him, but she sure as hell didn't want to make him angry.

They walked the rest of the way in silence. When they reached the apartment, Tsunade turned to walk back to the Hokage tower.

"I'll come back here in the morning so none of the villagers get the wrong idea." a small wave, and then she was gone.

Itachi went up to the apartment and found Gaara on the couch, waiting to hear what the conversation with the Hyuuga was all about. Itachi told him, trying to make it brief, for he wanted sleep. Gaara simply nodded, alright with the plan. After all, nothing could really go wrong if he was with Maliko while she was being trained.

Itachi took his leave and headed to the master bedroom, hoping to at least get a few hours of sleep.

A/N – GAH! I'm sorry! I did it again! I even started early but i'm such a god damn procrastinator! AHHH! How can you all put up with me. Just throw rotten vegetables at me so i won't feel so damn guilty! or... just throw reviews so i feel compelled to write for you lovely readers! Ku ku ku

Abayo

Malitia


	38. Black Roses

A/N i'm such a bad writer... i leave u guys waiting alll the time.. i'm so sorry! Lots has been happening its getting harder and harder! But no! I will not stop this story! Otherwise i woulda just wasted like a year of writing.. -sigh- anyways.. i won't keep u waiting

read on

* * *

Chapter 28 - Black Roses

Burning buildings. All that could be seen were burning buildings. A large cloud of black and gray hovered over the small village, random floating ashes lit up by the fire below.

The center of the village, where one could see all. The destruction of the village could be seen and felt no matter which way you turned when you stood here. But Maliko did not take a glance at the village. She wasn't able to tear her gaze off the ground in front of her.

No.. Not the ground. Tazze.

The grass around her sister was fresh with blood. Her sisters choked sobs and coughing had long before stopped, but the blood around her mouth still remained.

It was as if her sister had been crying but instead of the crystal clear liquid, there was crimson. It flowed from the corners of her pearl white eyes and across her face, pooling at the base of her neck above her collarbone.

Maliko finally tore her gaze from her sister and set it upon the burning Zetsumeikage tower. The smell of the black roses that she used to love so much made her want to cry. The smell was laced with ash.. It just proved that no matter how hard she clenched her eyes shut and covered her ears, she still breathed and therefore couldn't even escape the fact that she could smell the burning village, the destruction of every thing she came to love. There was absolutely nothing she could do.

Children's laughter could be heard, seemingly in the distance, but all around her, surrounding her and smothering her, making her become dizzy.

She couldn't help but think that maybe this was Kami-sama's doing. That maybe it was stupid of them to think they could live when every other village was wary of their loyalty. And for that, Kami-sama laughed at them.

The ones who began it all are to blame for the end. The Zetsumei ancestors thought the village could survive and live their lives off of money made from the deaths of others.

Who were they kidding... On can not live in death.

* * *

Maliko awoke with a start, breathing hard. She remembered the livid dream, her sister dead and bloodied on the ground. Frantically looking around the room, she noticed that her sister wasn't there, just Aysen, fast asleep.

Quickly Maliko got out of the bed and made her way to the bedroom door, holding the blanket around her as if it was her only lifeline. She spotted what she was looking for immediately.

There in the dark lay Gaara on the couch, his eyes closed. Maliko wondered if he was sleeping, but then remembered that was impossible for him.

Slowly and quietly, she walked over to him, her feet making a soft padding sound on the tatami mats. When she was but a few steps away from the couch Gaara took notice of her presence and opened his eyes. She looked so frightened standing there. She looked like a small child clutching onto her blanket around her.

"Whats the matter.." he asked her, his voice slightly hushed so he wouldn't wake up everyone else.

"How come you left me." her voice quivered slightly.

"I figured it would be alright since Aysen was there." proclaimed Gaara and he shifted towards the edge of the couch to make a spot for Maliko between the backing and himself. She quickly obliged and crawled over him, wrapping her blanket around him as well and let her arm drape across his chest, her head resting on his shoulder.

"As much as Aysen used to be my friend, shes a stranger now. Eight years changes a person." She snuggled her head more into the crook of his neck. "I trust you a lot more.."

"You trust me?" he whispered in slight bewilderment.

"Is that so hard to believe Gaara?"

He took for not answering that question and just wrapped his arm around her shoulders.

"Go to sleep." he ordered softly.

"Hai hai" she mumbled and soon her warm deep breathing could be felt on Gaara's neck.

* * *

Tazze and Sasuke found Orochimaru at the Sound's training grounds. No one else was around and it made Tazze slightly wonder why.

"First off, Sasuke i'm going to have you spar with me to see what you already know. Use Sharingan and come at me with killing intent." His eyes flickered to the girl infront of Sasuke and he spoke as if in a mocking way. "You girl, will spar with Kabuto.."

She glared hard at the Legendary Sannin. Obviously he didn't think she was good enough to even spar with him. Fine. She would show this Kabuto what she could do then.

She watched as another man walked into the training area. His smirk seemed somewhat predatory as he looked her up and down. Orochimaru merely laughed as he watched Kabuto eye her small figure.

"Kabuto.. Maybe you would stop goggling over Tazze-san so she can begin her spar ne?" hissed Sasuke as he glared at the slightly chuckling Kabuto.

"Hai, Sasuke-sama. I never meant any harm to your girlfriend." Kabuto said mockingly. This caused Tazze to become somewhat pissed as she aimed a punch for Kabuto's face. He easily dodged and grabbed her wrist.

"Feisty are we? You're gonna need a lot more anger to beat me if thats all you have."

Her growling only seemed to amuse him more. She focused chakra to the tenketsu holes on her wrist and watched as Kabuto hissed and wrenched his hand back. She quickly took this as her chance and jumped back while concentrating on activating her Byakugan. It seemed that she concentrated too hard and backed into a rather large rock poking out of the grass. This caused her to stumble and land on her back. Orochimaru laughed while Sasuke made a move to go over to her as she gasped and clenched her eyes shut from the pain on her back. She knew her wound would be open now.

Slowly she got up and noticed that Kabuto was once again smirking at her as he healed his wrist, and Orochimaru laughing at her from his spot behind Sasuke.

'Kuso, stupid rock. I'll show them not to laugh at me.' she thought to herself as she got up somewhat unsteadily from the ground. This was ridiculous. She knew if Itachi would've been the one to train her, he wouldnt've laughed at her. At least Sasuke looked somewhat concerned. Wait.. She didn't want his sympathy. Screw him!

Again she concentrated on activating her Byakugan and then ran towards Kabuto. She lunged at him with her open fist, hoping to hit his chest but he quickly dodged and made a slice over her already opened wounds on her back with a kunai. She cried out in pain and fell to the ground.

Before Kabuto could attack her again, she got up and pulled out a kunai. Aiming, she threw it as hard as she could then threw another. He managed to dodge the first one but the second one nicked his shoulder. He simply chuckled and healed it.

Tazze was starting to lose hope in even being able to hurt this guy. He could just heal himself. She'd need a critical hit. As she was trying to think of a way to get at him, she had left an opening. Kabuto quickly took his chance and sliced at her face with a kunai. She noticed his attempt and dodged her head back hurriedly. She was too slow and he created a vertical cut over her left eye.

She staggered back and tried to wipe the blood out of her eye. Luckily he didn't catch her eye, but just the skin. As she tried furiously to get her sight back, Kabuto ran at her again. Noticing this out of the corner of her other eye she quickly rolled onto her back and shoved her palm up and poured chakra through it. Kabuto had run right into it but unfortunately was still able to stab her in the shoulder with a poison tipped kunai.

Sasuke ran over to her, forgetting all about his spar with Orochimaru. Kneeling down next to her he quickly yanked out the kunai and spoke to her through her frantic thrashing and pain filled whimpering.

"Tazze. Calm down. I'll take you back to the house, just stop moving." She couldn't though. Her back was killing her as dust and sand made its way into her wound from falling on her back. The pain over her sensitive eye and her shoulder made her want to pass out.

Sasuke quickly activated his Sharingan.

"Tazze. Look at me." he said sternly to her. She blinked her eyes at him while clutching her shoulder and clenching her teeth in pain. As soon as her eyes looked into the Sharingan she was caught in the Genjutsu and her body untensed on the ground. Sasuke was hoping to not have to do that but all the thrashing would just cause her wounds to rip more. Plus the poison that Kabuto had used would surely spread.

"What did you use on her?" the Uchiha yelled at Kabuto. Kabuto had long before healed himself again. He looked at the livid Sasuke and smiled.

"Nothing critically harming. It just makes it seem like her wound is burning from the inside out." For this Sasuke leered hard at the silver haired man. Picking up Tazze he turned to Orochimaru. "I'm taking her back to the house."

"Your training hasn't even started for today Sasuke-kun." Orochimaru stated threateningly.

"There's always time for training. I'm not sparring until shes healed. Its just another thing to distract me." He shot back and walked away with Tazze in his arms.

When they made it back, Sasuke put Tazze in her bed and started to clean and bandage her wounds, all the while trying to think of a way to get out of Sound. Tazze was becoming too determined and he knew if they stayed too long, she'd crave too much for the power that Orochimaru had to offer. He had done that once and it benefited him none but wary glances his way, wondering on who he was loyal to. It was too troublesome and far too dangerous for Tazze.

* * *

A/n... Theres a lot of symbolism there but u don't need too much about it as of yet. Sorry for taking so long.. this measly bit took me a whole day to write.. I absolutely hate writing fight scenes... -sigh-.. sumaimasen! its shitty but just bear with me.. ahh review with ur harsh slaps and sexual demeanors .. ku ku ku...

Abayo

Malitia


	39. A Deal Made

A/N AAWWWE i love ur guys's reviews! Its so motivating that i read them during class.. and started the story right after! Even though it doesn't seem like this got out any faster -sigh-.. sorry.. anyways here i go

read on!

* * *

Chapter 39 - A Deal Made

A soft rapping at their apartment door had triggered Gaara out of his daze that he seemed to be in. It had been about two hours since Maliko had come out to him, but it seemed so much shorter. Usually it felt like a decade for the nights to pass. But somehow, with Maliko's soft breathing on his neck and her arm draped across his chest, it just made him feel content and, even though impossible, rested.

Shifting from underneath Maliko he got up and made his way to the door. A very tired Hokage greeted him with "Ohayo" and came into the apartment.

"I'm sure Itachi told you about going to the Hyuuga Compound today, ne? Hiashi's expecting us in half an hour." Gaara nodded and walked back over to the couch while Tsunade made herself comfy in their small kitchen while sheepishly pulled a small bottle of sake, seemingly, out of nowhere.

"Oi, Maliko." He said in a hushed voice, so as not to wake Aysen and Itachi, while shaking her shoulder lightly. "Wake up. We gotta leave soon."

He saw her sleepy face twitch and immediately he knew what to do. He quickly pulled his head back and not soon after a fist shot up. Growling Gaara grabbed onto Maliko's blankets and tugged them away from her. Curling up she shivered for a few seconds and then peeked one eye open to groggily look around the room.

"What time is it?" She asked, slightly wondering why Gaara was waking her up when the room wasn't even fully lighted by the sun.

"Dawn. Now get up we have things to do today." He replied back sternly.

Reluctantly Maliko rose from the couch, but not before mumbling obscenities towards Gaara. He merely rolled his eyes and wrote a note for Itachi while Maliko grabbed her black robe. When she went to grab her staff, she noticed Tazze's katanas. Tazze never was a good fighter without them. She really hoped she was okay.

"I'm ready to go."

* * *

Her body felt like dead weight all over. Her legs seemed fine as did her right arm but her upper torso, eye and left arm felt like they were either already dead or burning. Moaning, she tried to kick the blankets off of herself. It was boiling hot in the house.

'Who am I kidding. This isn't a house. It's more like a hut, made specially for me cause that snake freak thinks i'm weak and I deserve no more..' she thought bitterly. She wasn't having a good day at all. All she wanted to do was train and get strong, but instead she gets beat to a pulp and gets to suffer with this weird burning. 'What the hell! This doesn't even feel like bruising, its like somethings eating my flesh!' she yelled inside her head.

She tried furiously to sit up but her shoulder wound seemed to affect her arm and torso she was unable to. Her moaning and gasps of pain must have alerted Sasuke for he immediately came over and gently pushed her back down onto the bed.

"You know, if you push yourself, you're never going to heal up." he told her coldly.

"If I don't push myself then i'll never get anywhere..." she shot back bitterly and tried to struggle against Sasuke to get up again. This caused her to wince and fight back a small cry, resulting in Sasuke just holding her down harder. "Why does such a small wound hurt so much?"

"Kabuto used some kind of poison to tip the blade of his kunai. It makes it seem like your flesh is burning on the inside or something. I was hoping it would've worn off by now."

"Well I guess it didn't eh?"

"Kami why are you so moody... I'm trying to help you." Sasuke replied, frustrated.

"Didn't I tell you I didn't want your concern?" Tazze growled back.

"Well you're getting it. If it was just you, Orochimaru would probably already had you dead." 'Damn shes stubborn' he thought to himself

"So.. You don't care if you rip me away from my village, my sister, and my friends, but you do care if some weird guy wants to tear me to shreds." Tears were starting to brim her pale eyes as she thought about Maliko and Itachi, and how short her happiness was while she was in her village.

"I had to take you from there because it was my mission. If you had any experience with Shinobi life then you would understand. But, I never expected Orochimaru to show up and for us to end up here." proclaimed Sasuke as he sat down on the side of the bed., glad she was at least preoccupied with their conversation and not struggling.

"Well we are here and I intend to make the best of it and get stronger."

Sasuke sighed and ran his fingers through his dark hair. "You know, a friend once told me... 'he's not going to give you power for free.' Can't you see he wants something from you. You shouldn't rely on some stranger to help you get stronger. Orochimaru will only use you for his benefits."

"So be it."

"Stop being so stubborn! You're going to risk your life to become stronger! Its kind of a hypocrite thing for me to say this but its not worth it. What in Kami's name is so important that you have to go through all this bullshit to become strong!" he asked, not bothering to keep his voice down.

Tazze's eyes trailed down in an ashamed sort of way before she replied.

"I'm sick of being a burden on everyone. My own sister doesn't even believe in my strength. I want to show her and everyone else that I can take care of myself... that I don't need their sympathy and protection." Her determination radiated from her tenfold. Sasuke could almost see his fifteen year old self in this girl. She's so much like he was when he was younger, still hellbent on killing Itachi. Sure, he still wanted to kill Itachi for the horrendous acts he committed, but he had toned down. Sasuke allowed himself to have fun, make friends, and instead of having a goal to kill his brother, changed it to become strong so he could protect his loved ones, should there ever be another Itachi like person that threatened them.

"How bout I make you a deal.."

Tazze cocked an eyebrow at this statement.

"I'll train you. I'll show you no sympathy nor mock your abilities and strength. Just so long as you don't study under Orochimaru. If Orochimaru wants to train someone, he can 'train' me, even though I will never agree to learn anything from him or pay him back for the useless training. Just promise me you won't become influenced by Orochimaru. He's manipulative and he will try his hardest to get what he wants from you, whatever it may be."

"Why are you so worried about my welfare when i'm with Orochimaru..."

"I went through this all a long time ago and nearly lost my best friend. If you're not careful you just might lose your sister because of Orochimaru." She barely choked back a small sob before nodding.

"Alright"

"What?" Sasuke asked shocked.

"I agree to your deal. Under no circumstances do I want to lose my sister and for that reason, i'll go along with your deal." She closed her eyes, hoping that he wouldn't be able see the defeat in them.

"Good. Now get some sleep and let your body heal. No more trying to get up okay?"

"Hai hai." she replied before she managed to fall into a pained slumber.

* * *

A/N KYAA! tried to hurry! But I must say, i'm not at all pleased with this chapter. It pisses me off alot and I contemplated alot about not putting it up. By far my worst. it was hard too.. Sasuke is.. hard to write. You never know when you're being too sentimental with him and so on and so forth. But you know.. if u noticed in the anime hes getting pretty damned loving.. even if its in a violent way.. ahem anyways. Hope u liked this measly chap. Reviewwwww with Ews.

Abayo

Malitia


	40. A Healing Predator

A/N – Ugh.. welp.. someone gave me an idea for something to happen.. so i'm gonna use some of the idea... since really.. it was a good idea.. derr.. anyways sorry that i haven't posted for a while... i'm awfully lazy this week .. i thought about doing this everyday.. but just.. never didn't

read on!

* * *

Chapter 40 – A Healing Predator

"Y-you?"

Maliko pointed towards the tall dark haired man. Her face of confusion and shock contrasted his apathetic features. Gaara meanwhile stood slightly behind Maliko with his arms crossed, looking from one Hyuuga to the other.

"W-why are you my trainer?" she yelled, not caring about other Hyuuga inhabitants that might be sleeping close by. "You're only a Branch member!"

Neji cleared his throat while trying to hold back on pummeling the obnoxious girl to the ground. "Some of us aren't as lucky as you are Maliko-_sama_. Even if i'm 'just' a Branch Member so are you, just without the seal." She crossed her arms and made a disdainful pouting face after he said this. "Even though some Main House members would not like to admit it, I am the one that has inherited the Bloodline Limit the most. Therefore, i'm the one thats going to be training you."

Maliko groaned childishly and looked back at Gaara. Gaara simply quirked his eyebrow at her and turned to go sit under a tree. Sighing, Maliko turned back to Neji.

"..Fine..." she drawled, "What are we gonna do."

"We're going to wait until Hinata-sama gets here, and then you're gonna hit me in the shoulder with the Gentle Fist." replied Neji, unfazed by her disappointment in him being her trainer.

"Hinata-sama?... Who's that.. and why do I have to hit you in the shoulder." She questioned confused. Before Neji could answer her. A small framed woman came running up to them and bowed in apology.

"Sumaimasen. I didn't mean to make you wait." She said quietly.

"Maliko this is Hinata-sama. She's a medic and is going to be helping you when you get hurt." Neji told the orange haired girl.

"What makes you think i'm going to get hurt." hissed Maliko. Neji only smirked at this and waved it off as unimportant.

"Okay, I want you to hit me right here," Neji pointed to an area by his shoulder "with as much chakra as you can. I want to test how strong your output is."

"What the hell.. I'll hurt you!" she yelled.

"I assure you, you won't. And even if you do, Hinata's here." he replied while shrugging it off. "Now, activate your Byakugan and hit me"

Maliko obeyed and activated her Byakugan while Neji did the same and steadied himself firmly, ready for the impact.

Charging as much of her chakra as she could muster to her right hand, she shot it forward to the part where Neji has motioned to before. Although his shoulder jolted back a bit from the hit, he seemed unfazed.

"As I suspected. Not much better than Hinata-sama was when she was younger."

"What do you mean by that! And why the hell aren't you dead!" she yelled causing Gaara to look up from gazing at the ground.

"For one, It was so weak that it didn't hurt me. My body is used to being hit by the Gentle Fist, and second of all.. I'm not dead because you hit me in the shoulder.. Weakly at that."

Maliko glared hard at the unhurt Hyuuga man. Usually people praised her on being stronger.. well stronger than her sister at least.. But Neji had the indecency to insult her. This made her furious.

"It was not weak!" she yelled back childishly while stomping her foot in anger. Her fists were clench at her side.

"This is what it felt like..." He hit her in the shoulder and she jolted back from his thrust. But other than that she could just feel the tingle of eerie chakra in her shoulder. Before she could bite out an insult he cut in.

"This is what it's supposed to feel like." She saw Gaara jolt up suddenly out of the corner of her eye.

Before Maliko could prepare herself for the hit, it had already come and gone. Neji moved so fast she could barely see it coming. She fell back onto the ground rather roughly, clutching her shoulder. The pain kicked in almost immediately. It felt like her whole arm had been ripped right off. She tried to hold back the cries of pain but couldn't. Through her watering eyes she could see Gaara coming to kneel by her side. He quickly grabbed her hand away from the spot that was just hit so Hinata could heal it.

Hinata quickly dropped to the ground and began to heal the damaged parts in her shoulder. Maliko immediately felt the pain ease away but her shoulder was still tender. Most like there would be a bruise there, but she didn't doubt that that wouldn't be her only one. As soon as Hinata was finished, Maliko furiously wiped her watery eyes with her sleeve and jumped up to stand infront of Neji. She was fuming so much that Gaara thought she would erupt in smoke and fire.

"YOU COULD'VE WARNED ME YOU ASSHOLE!" she yelled at the top of her lungs. Neji just calmly looked at her and shrugged.

"Would it have made it hurt less?" he asked daintily.

"You.. " she struggled for words. "Shut up.."

Neji let out a small chuckle at her childishness. Gaara meanwhile went back to his spot by the tree. He could tell it was going to be a long day. Yes.. A very long day of Maliko screaming and yelling. Maybe he could meditate and block it out.

"Alright, lets figure out a way to help you push out more chakra. Also, your stance when you hit isn't nearly strong enough." Neji began trying to sound a little more nicer.

For the whole day, from morning to evening, they fought it out. Neji taught, Maliko screamed in frustration, Hinata giggled from the sidelines, and Gaara meditated. Neji had to admit though, for a girl with such a childish mind, she sure learned fast. Neji had found out that instead of Maliko's chakra making it all the way to her palm, it would stray and escape the tenketsu on her arms. She wasn't concentrating enough on it. That was easily fixed though. Neji had just placed a small metal ball in her hand and told her to concentrate her chakra to the ball instead of her whole palm.

Her output still wasn't as strong as his though. They figured they would be here for a month, so he had some time to get her ready.

* * *

Tazze awoke to two people arguing and a throbbing pain in her shoulder. Noticing how little light there was she figuring it was the evening. As she searched the room with her white eyes for the loud disturbances, she found nothing in the hut. Trying hard to ignore her shoulder she activated her Byakugan to look through the walls.

The voices were muffled through the walls but she could see Sasuke and Kabuto. Sasuke seemed to be the angry one, yelling at Kabuto. The silver haired man just seemed to be trying to convince something of Sasuke. She saw Sasuke give out a sigh finally and walk away.

'What.. Where is he going!.. ' she thought frantically to herself. 'W-why is Kabuto coming in here!'

Kabuto stepped into the room and closed the door behind him. Even in the dark he could still see her white eyes on him.

"How's the shoulder?" he asked with a smirk.

"Where'd Sasuke go." Tazze quickly shot back at him, ignoring his mocking question.

Kabuto chuckled lightly at how scared she looked, clutching the blanket to herself, but wincing every so often from her shoulder. "Orochimaru-sama wished to see him."

"So w-why are you here?" she stuttered out, wishing Sasuke would return soon.

"To heal you of course." he said cheerily. But his features weren't cheery, they were more predatory.

"I-I'm fine..I don't need healing" she just wanted him to leave. He was making her very uneasy.

Smirking some more, he walked towards her and pushed her shoulders back onto her mattress. She let out a squeak when she felt his hands on her and tried to push him off. He just held her down more forcefully and rip her shirt at the shoulder. She made to scream but a hand quickly covered her mouth. Through all her struggling he quickly healed her shoulder wound and drew out the poison, but he let his hands stray and linger on her too long.

Feeling this Tazze began to struggle harder while tears formed in her eyes. She eventually kneed him in the stomach and rolled off of the bed, falling roughly to the floor. Kabuto quickly gathered himself and laughed at her position.

"You're so weak and pretty. I would love to strip you of your innocence." He growled out as he made to walk towards her again. Her eyes widened in fright and she hastily picked herself up off the floor and ran towards the door, hearing Kabuto right behind her. He grabbed her angle and dragged her back to him as she furiously clawed at the ground, trying to get away. He straddled her hips and leaned down to lick her neck, getting excited with her struggling as she tried to buck him off of her.

He began to kiss down her neck and let his hands roam where they pleased. He then felt a sharp pain on his shoulder and pulled back. She bit him. Using his surprise to her advantage, she pushed him off of her and ran to the door again.

She opened the door and hurriedly slammed it back at Kabuto. She then ran as fast as she could down the dark and empty street. She heard Kabuto yelling behind her, but through her panic didn't hear what he had said.

As she rounded a corner at the end of the street, she bumped into someone.

"Tazze?"

"Sasuke! Kabuto.. He's-I tried to leave...Where'd you go..he touched me-I tried to g-get away." She mumbled all this hurriedly clutching at his shirt as if she was holding onto him for dear life. He could barely understand her through the sobbing and panicky stuttering, but as soon as he heard the last part and saw her ripped shirt he instantly got angry.

Not long after Tazze had stopped her ramblings, Kabuto rounded the corner and smirked when he saw Sasuke holding Tazze.

"What the hell did you do Kabuto.." said Sasuke, trying to keep his voice even through the anger.

"Healed her shoulder is all." He replied casually. Kabuto let out a chuckle when he saw Tazze shift to stand behind Sasuke, still clutching his shirt with her face tear streaked.

Sasuke could feel her trembling against his back. He was very pissed that Kabuto would use his disposition as an advantage to get to Tazze. Growling, Sasuke activated his Sharingan and pulled out a kunai.

"It doesn't look like you just healed her."

Kabuto simply laughed again and did a few handseals, disappearing in a cloud of smoke.

"Shit... Tazze are you alright?" he asked while turning to her. She looked like a completely frightened wreck. Her whole body was shaking and her eyes were widened. Sighing, Sasuke put one arm behind her legs and one around her back and picked her up and took her back to the hut while she buried her face into the cloth covering his chest.

When he got into the hut, her blankets were strewn all over the floor and an endtable was knocked over. He set her down on his bed and watched as she curled up in the fetal position. He was going to go out and find Kabuto but he decided not to. Tazze probably didn't want to be left alone now and he didn't know if Kabuto would come back. So he settled down on the bed beside her and let himself drift into a light sleep with Tazze snuggled up beside him, still shivering.

* * *

A/N – It might look like its turning out to be SasuTazz.. BUT ITS NOT! they are just friends! and i'm really sorry for the late update. I had a lot of things going on this past week and a half.. friends moving, tests, the whole shabamslamfamcram. Anyways i hoped you like the story and thanks to **darkninjafromhell **for some of your idea! It gave me something to write about on Tazze's half this time. Haha anyways i'll try -- keyword .. to update again this week!

Abayo

Malitia


	41. Training Times Two

A/N – absolutely no motivation to do this... just got psytracked in my authors note by an argument with a cousin... wow.. definitely no motivation to do this.. -sigh- sorry if this chap is extremely sucky

read on!

* * *

Chapter 41 - Training Times Two 

Dawn had come with unwelcome brightness on Maliko's behalf. She was so sore from her training with Neji yesterday that she felt she wouldn't even be able to get up from her bed. Looking across the room she noticed that Aysen was still sleeping, and would be for the next few hours until Itachi decided to wake her. Sure Aysen was training as well, but Maliko highly doubted that Itachi was putting as much physical strain on her body as Neji was with herself.

Reaching beside her to rouse Gaara out of his deep meditative state, she noticed that he wasn't there. Instantly tensing, she looked around the room. Last night he had come to bed with her since she still didn't feel comfortable without Tazze. They had talked for a while about Neji and what he was like when Gaara knew him as a child, and talked about what would happen once they got Tazze back. That wasn't a long subject as neither of them knew what would happen, but they could think of their own conclusions.

Shrugging, Maliko flung the blankets over her head to block out the morning light. She figured Gaara had just stepped out for a minute and decided to take his absence as a sign for her to go back to sleep.

As soon as her eyes had drifted shut, the blankets around her were tugged away, leaving her to shiver and hiss at the bright lights. Seeing Gaara toss her blankets to the foot of the bed and look expectantly at her, she groaned and buried her face into her pillow.

"Get up Maliko." He said sternly while tugging at her wrists. "Neji expects us at the compound soon."

Sighing, she raised herself into a sitting position and looked up to Gaara.

"Where were you?" she asked. "You weren't here when I woke up."

"Making us something to eat so you wouldn't have to train while starving." he told her emotionlessly. "Now come on."

Despite how tired she was, she was beaming inside. Gaara always acted so cold, but always did the littlest things that made him seem like the kindest man in the world. She let out a giggle. It was as if she thought making her breakfast was the sweetest thing a man could do. Well.. it was probably the sweetest thing Gaara could do anyways.

"What are you laughing at..."

"Nothing!" she replied in a sing song voice as she smiled from behind him as they walked out of the room. He just quirked an eyebrow and shrugged.

After eating they headed over to the Hyuuga compound. Tsunade wasn't accompanying them today since she had already alerted all the villagers about their presence. But still, Maliko and Gaara could feel the cold hard starers on their back as they walked down the street.

When they finally arrived at the compound, Neji was already outside waiting for them. Hinata was not with him this time which kind of made Maliko worry. This time he could hurt her and she would get no relief.

"Where's Hinata-san?" Maliko inquired, looking around as if Hinata would pop out from behind a tree.

"She's not needed with us today." Neji replied brushing the question aside.

"So what are we doing today then?" she questioned again, letting her eyes follow Gaara as he strolled over to his spot by the tree to meditate.

"Well since your output is a little better, we're going to practice your Kaiten. And if you already didn't know, you have a blindspot right here.." he stated while placing a finger on a spot on her spine, right below her neck. "A sound nin had found out about my blindspot before so I don't doubt others can find out about it again, so while you spar with me, i'm gonna have little rocks that I will aim to your blindspot. Your job is to find a way to deflect it or dodge it."

Her head was reeling with how fast he had just spoke, but she caught the jist of it. Nodding her head, they started their training.

* * *

Tazze awoke just before dawn. The sun did not shine against her closed eye lids so she didn't bother opening them. Instead she instantly remembered what happened just a few hours ago. Shivering, she unconsciously snuggled closer to the warmth beside her. 

"Huh?" Feeling around beside her, she vaguely remembered what happened after she found Sasuke in the streets.

"You're...feeling me up.." Sasuke groaned out, somewhat shocked and tired. Being woke up in that way was nice...but weird... too weird for him.

"Huh?... AHHH!" she screamed and pushed him away. There was a loud thud as Sasuke's body connected to the ground. Tazze's hands flew up to cover her mouth as she bit back a gasp.

"Sasuke...?" She asked hesitantly. "Sasuke.. I'm so sorry."

Sasuke let out a groan, not because hitting the floor was that painful, but because he was barely awake.

"Ugh.. don't worry about it." He replied tiredly as he rubbed his eyes. "Might as well get up now.. Anything you want to do today?"

"Um.. Do you think you could train me today? I'd really like to become stronger and I know sitting around here with wounds isn't helping me out." she said as she looked down at the sheet she was grasping with her hands.

"Sure, I know just the thing to teach you." Sasuke pushed himself off the ground and went to grab his leg holster and tossed Tazze her own. "Lets go find a secluded spot where Orochimaru can't bother us."

"Hai!"

* * *

Tazze and Sasuke had finally found a spot just on the outskirts of the Sound surrounded by large trees. Even though she hadn't gotten nearly enough sleep and it was still dark, Tazze was determined. She wanted to become stronger so bad that her whole body tingled when she thought about what it would be like. 

She would show Maliko that she didn't need her like her sister thought she did. She wouldn't need to bother Itachi with having to protect her. And she would certainly teach Kabuto what pain was for what he tried to do to her, and Orochimaru for looking down on her. People wouldn't look at her as though she were the weaker sibling. And if bonds needed to be broken a little, so be it. She actually wanted to be here now. Anything for strength.

Sasuke looked at Tazze's cold, smirking face. Given the right traits, she would be the exact twin of his old self. He could see her want for strength, and he could also see that she was starting to become unfeeling because of it. He was wary if he should really teach her this. He knew she could handle it, but was worried about what she would do with it.

Sighing, he decided that it would be better if she had at least something, instead of nothing to defend herself with.

"Alright. I've decided since you have a perfect defense with your Byakugan eyes and can see anything coming at you, I'm going to teach you a jutsu known by only two people." He said as he noticed her determined face. "I'm gonna teach you Chidori."

* * *

A/N EGADS i've lost all motivation there ever was. Sorry for this late and stupid update. I had a huge writers block and had no idea how to go about this. And for the person who said "that was a shitty rape scene" ...it wasn't even a rape scene.. more like a molestation scene.. haha don't hear about many people calling it that! Anyways.. sorry that i didn't live up to the other great Rapist writers.. shit.. i'm in a shitty mood. Anyways, i hope you liked the chapters, and please motivate me with reviews, i barely got any for the last chap. But i am grateful to the ones who did review, this chapters dedicated to you.

Kiki

Hao'sAnjul

xkuroxshinobix

Dreaming-Nightingale

MisSs005

darkninjafromhell

nightxXxshade

Abayo

Malitia


	42. Chasing Dreams

A/N:

Terri Heyo! Alright, this is ETERNAL ANNOYANCE ( MALITIA's buddy)…and seeing as she is for a lack of ideas, I'll be writing this chapter. I have to admit I did have difficulties trying to write….for Sasuke, it's so hard, cuz you don't want to make him too soft and caring, but hey, people change

Alright, let's not delay this…I hope this chapter is to your liking! And once again…this may be an odd chappie but pfft, I'm sure it'll work…mayhaps a bit pointless…

Disclaimer: Is this really necessary who, I mean who in their right mind would think these are our characters, well beside Maliko, Tazze and Aysen, of course.

* * *

Chapter 42 – Chasing Dreams

Sasuke wondered to himself, if Tazze would even be capable of mastering the chidori. Kakashi and himself both possessed the Sharingan, and it picked at the back of his mind whether Tazze would be able to use it as effectively. Why wouldn't she be able to? Being able to use the Byakugan required the efficient use of chakra, and that's all that was needed. The ability to perceive your enemies actions was just a plus, besides when combined with the Byakugan, a wider range of vision would also increase the lethalness and accuracy of the attack.

He watched on as Tazze demonstrated her ability to manipulate her own chakra. Finally, convinced that there was a definite need for improvement, Sasuke walked towards her from his spot near the tree.

"Why don't we try a different approach?" He suggested.

Tazze flitted her gaze towards him. It was obvious in her features that she was not pleased by his interrupting her; moreover, it only revealed that he was obviously not impressed or content with what she had demonstrated to him. Sasuke looked into her pallid eyes with his own crimson eyes.

Composing herself, she asked rather bitterly, "And what do you have in mind?"

"Genjutsu, as I am sure you are aware of, are techniques that few can truly specialize in. It requires immense and precise control of your own chakra as well as your opponents'," Sasuke lectured her.

Looking away in annoyance, Tazze held her breath for a moment, trying to bite back her frustration. Letting out a slow exhale, she turned her eyes to Sasuke, "So? Are you saying that I need to be pro at Genjutsu before I can use this Chidori?" She knew she was being irrational, and bit on the bitchy side. She did have a right to do so, after all, having been violated just last night, and being looked down upon one's entire life is not a positive influence on one's life.

Sasuke rose a brow, looking at Tazze in what may have been disbelief. He did not appreciate her attitude, nor found it productive. Ignoring her comment, Sasuke continued, "Having a sense of your own chakra is needed, and-"

Stopping mid-sentence, Sasuke turned shifted his Sharingan eyes to his left, as he searched the surrounding forest for movement. Dawn was breaking, but Sasuke still doubted that Orochimaru would have summoned their presence. He could have sworn he had sensed someone nearby. However, he dismissed it, forcing himself to focus on training Tazze.

Tazze looked at him, studying his features, wondering what was going on. She glanced over in the same direction he had just been searching, "What's wrong?"

"It's nothing," he assured her. "Now, I guess I'll take the hint and just delve right into teaching you the Chidori."

A small smirk formed on her face. Sasuke just figured she'll catch on. "It's much easier to concentrate on something, unless, you feel it's not necessary?"

Tazze pondered the situation, not quite sure what the heck he was asking her. "You mean to focus my chakra? The concentrating thing sounds good to me…"

"Alright, you're finally becoming sensible," he told her. "The Genjutsu portion would have helped you have better control of your chakra, but this can also aide in doing so." Picking up a chunk of rotted wood off the ground, Sasuke tossed it to Tazze. Catching it, and only fumbling it for a moment, Tazze glanced up to Sasuke. Taking her somewhat confused expression as his cue, Sasuke continued. "The point of this is to channel your chakra into a more physical form."

Still Tazze seemed a bit baffled. "So…this attack is what?"

Sasuke took a few steps back from Tazze. "I'll demonstrate if you'd like." Tazze nodded in response to him, and Sasuke widening his stance a bit, held his arm before him. Tazze watched on, curious what would happen. With the formation of his chakra, came a blue light, which cast itself on his features.

With eyes widened, and mouth gaping a bit, Tazze clearly looked surprised. She rose a brow, when Sasuke turned his gaze up from the chakra in his palm. His crimson gaze looked ahead of him to a group of large stones. She was very impressed, and could feel her chest tighten a bit as she looked on. With the explosion of the rock, Tazze was very anxious to learn this technique. Bits of small pebbles hit her, as a cloud of dust settled around them.

"If you feel that I need to practice chakra control," Tazze began to say. When Sasuke looked at her, seeing his Sharingan gaze upon her, she turned her attention to the ground before her. "Then let's do that, Sasuke." Brushing some hair out of her face, Tazze's fingers moved over the scar down her left eye. She would pay Kabuto back, she vowed it to herself.

"…Hai," Sasuke replied with a nod. "We best begin immediately. Orochimaru will get impatient."

* * *

Having been hit by a few rocks here and there, Maliko was becoming annoyed and pissed off. Finally, having only been able to see a few rocks, Maliko began to catch on.

'When attacking Neji, I channeled my chakra through a precise tenketsu…and the more that I was able to concentrate on channeling it through a certain tenketsu, and target his own, the attack became more powerful, so…' A small rock hit her shoulder as she tried to dodge at random moments. 'Since earlier training involved the tenketsu…so must this one!'

Another one hit her. Getting fed up she spun to face Neji only to find another rock flying towards her. Having only a moment to dodge it, Maliko had lost her balance. Planting her hand on the ground behind her, Maliko was able to keep herself from falling. With a push off the ground, Maliko flipped herself over, landing in a small crouching position. Neji looked down at her, for a moment he thought she had figured it out.

Maliko rose from her spot on the ground, rubbing her shoulder. "Let's try one more time," Maliko suggested as she turned her back on Neji. Taking a deep breath, Maliko concentrated on being able to expel chakra through all her tenketsu.

Gaara opened one eye, peering over to Maliko. He had thought she would want to quit or try something different. This development was a surprise to him, but he knew why she would want to continue – rescuing Tazze was the motivation for her. He watched as she performed a quick series of hand seals.

Feeling chakra surge through her eyes, Maliko was ready to see Neji's actions. Even if she could not see the rock, she could time when the rock would likely hit her just by interpreting Neji's movements. Getting anxious, Maliko could feel her pace quicken a bit. She only prayed that she had found a breakthrough to this ridiculous training.

There! She saw Neji's hand drop back to his side. Taking a deep breath, she concentrated on her tenketsu. She could feel the chakra move through her tenketsu, creating some chakra barrier around her.

Neji's brow furrowed as he watched the rock stop behind her. He was impressed and surprised that she had figured out the basics of the Kaiten technique. Shortly after, the rock fell to the ground, and Neji knew Maliko had stopped channeling her chakra. Looking down at the fallen rock, a small smirk formed on Neji's lips.

'She is indeed a fast learner,' he thought to himself.

Gaara, likewise, was also surprised. He knew the girls had the potential for this kind of power, but he questioned how long it would take for them to master such techniques. Maliko had come this far in only a few days. By the look of Neji, Gaara knew then and there that it had taken Neji far longer to harness the true power of the Kaiten, or even learn how to use it for that matter.

Maliko saw the rock drop to the ground, and her heart pounded within her chest. She was not sure if she could believe her sight. Turning around she saw the rock that Neji had thrown, and she seemed a bit confused, not having it hit her. She wondered if she had done even what she thought she had done – deflect the rock with only her chakra. Knowing she held the rock there for some time before it fell to the ground. Maliko knew that it would expend too much chakra for her to deflect larger chakra. There was also a time factor to consider.

'That technique would be pointless in a close combat match,' Maliko figured to herself. 'It requires lots of concentration, plus it took so long just to deflect one rock. Had it been multiple rocks thrown….the amount of chakra to deflect them would be a waste. There has to be something more to this…'

Maliko looked up with her pallid eyes. Neji returned the gaze, waiting for Maliko to say something, since her tensed form was a dead give away. Maliko struggled with what exactly to say to Neji, or ask him. She was a bit confused.

Finally, after only a moment. "What kind of technique is that!"

Gaara was stirred from his meditation, having trying to concentrate once again. Her shrill voice rang in his mind. He watched on as an annoyed Maliko approached the calm Neji.

Neji remained nonchalant, waiting for her to get her frustration out before he could begin to explain what exactly this technique was. "It's such a waste of chakra! Do you know how much I had to expel just to deflect that stupid rock!" Maliko kicked some dirt as she complained about the rock.

"Then why channel chakra through all your tenketsu?" Neji proposed the question to Maliko.

Maliko opened her mouth to protest, but shut it just as quickly as if pondering his question. "Well-…how am I supposed to know where it was coming from?"

"But you did know," he challenged. "From behind you."

"That's just one situation. Not all attacks will come from behind me!" Maliko pointed out. "I need to be able to deflect from all directions."

A small smirk formed on Neji's face. She was getting closer to the answer and it was only a matter of time when she would realize it. "And what do you suggest you should do?"

With a shrug, Maliko put her hands on her hips. "I don't know…use all my tenketsu…"

"Why don't you try put your theory to test then?"

Maliko looked up at him, "A field test? How? Get lots of people here to chuck rocks at me?" Neji glanced over to Gaara, and Maliko knew what he was getting at. "Wait! Getting a direct attack is different than getting stuff thrown at you!"

"Gaara?" Neji ignored Maliko's protests. "You are able to form objects with sand."

"…Hai," Gaara told Neji. It was obvious Neji knew what Gaara was capable of, so why bother asking, Gaara figured.

"You can aide Maliko then," Neji told Gaara. "Form small objects, or pellets for Maliko to deflect."

Gaara complied. Standing up he walked over to a short distance from Maliko. Neji in turn went to stand on the sidelines of this demonstration. "Now, show me what you know, Maliko," Neji challenged her. "Gaara is your opponent. He isn't going to go soft on you, nor should you leave any openings for him to attack you."

Maliko took the hint, and knew that Gaara would not stop until Neji instructed him to do so. She widened her stance a bit, not sure what to expect from Gaara. Neji, on the other hand, hoped that Maliko would be able to figure out how the use the Kaiten. With only a month left, it was important that they move on to other techniques as well.

* * *

A/N:

Terri yah, I knew people wanted more interaction between Gaara and Maliko, but I figured that would come after this training session….and it also occurred to me that the Tazze/Sasuke section of this also a waste. Wasn't too sure the training Sasuke went thru to be able to learn how to use the Chidori…cuz that happened during the chuunin exams, rite? Anywho, make sure to review! …and give suggestion or wutnot…luv ya

Also, I'd like to thank **darkninjafromhell **for your suggestions. I so tried to balance them out…hope I sorta did

Malitia's A/n – As for me.. don't worry, the next chapter, i'm gonna get some Itachi all up ons and such.. maybe i'll leave out tazze and sasuke next chap.. KYA! Who knows. Review for love!

Abayo

Malitia and Eternal Annoyance


	43. Reminisce

A/n – So sue me, this story is starting to be a burden... like i still really wanna do it but i've been noticing a lot of mistakes i made but... jeez.. anyways i won't keep you. Sorry for the waiting

Read on!

* * *

Chapter 43 - Reminisce

Although Itachi was supposed to be training Aysen, he did little more than watch and see what she could do. Yes, they had sparred and he could very well say she wasn't that bad, hell of a lot better than Tazze, but he would still rather be training his long-haired Hyuuga companion. Not to say that he really didn't like Aysen, he just didn't see her in the same light as Tazze.

With Aysen, he could sense her uneasiness with being around him. She probably felt so awkward with his silence and wondered if she should begin a conversation, and worried that he wouldn't respond and just stay with his usual quiet demeanor. So she settled for always keeping quiet.

Tazze though, was always comfortable. After a few days of them arriving with them of course. She could sit with him in silence and Itachi wouldn't feel and ounce of fidgeting from being uncomfortable coming from her.

Tazze would just calmly sit there, occasionally smile and do whatever she felt needed to be done. And when the time came that she did want to talk and have a conversation with him, she would go right ahead and talk. Talk like the world was going to end tomorrow. Once she started, she wouldn't stop for the world. Itachi didn't mind at all. He found it amusing that she would just keep going without faltering with reluctance because he didn't respond. He even found that sometimes she would respond for him. He loved her entertainment. Despite how shy she was at times, she really had a mouth on her.

The past week had been a drag for him without her around. His only consolation was actually sitting in silence, thinking about her antics. It was the only way he could see her. And although he didn't act like her not being there didn't bother him, it really did. He was eager to go get her back and a little bit tormented with his thoughts about what Orochimaru might have done with her so far.

And if Orochimaru had done anything to hurt her, he would surely pay with his life.

* * *

Maliko readied herself for the oncoming assault made by Gaara. Sand hurled at her from every direction and she hoped she would be able to do the Kaiten without problems.

As soon as she saw the sand leave his gourd, she started the spin, chakra emanating from every tenketsu on her body. The sand didn't hit her shield for a while and when it did, it was powerful, and overwhelming. After resisting it for a moment, her shield gave away because of her not being able to keep it up. Sand connected with her body and she clenched her eyes shut as she crashed to the ground. It had most surely cracked a rib from the force.

The sand almost immediately withdrew from her and she cracked open an eye to see Gaara by her side with a worried expression. As much of a worried expression that he could muster anyways.

Neji ran up to stand behind Gaara's kneeling form and looked down at his student as she moved her hand to her ribs and flinched at the contact.

"You started too soon." Neji began, "You have to time it so you won't waste the spin. You would've held longer if you had started when his sand was closer to you instead of as it just left his gourd."

Maliko said nothing and lowered her eyes, disappointed in herself that she couldn't master this move as well as she thought.

"It's alright we can try again if you're up to it." He stated, trying to sound reassuring.

"Yeah.." she replied halfheartedly. She moved to get up but winced from her cracked rib. 'Awel' she thought, 'I've had worse injuries, its just another obstacle.'

Gaara noticed her grimace and decided to intervene.

"Maliko sit back down." she looked up at him confused as he turned to the medical supplied that Hinata had left for just in case. He turned back to her with a roll of bandages. Sitting down in front of her, he reached over and tugged at her shirt to get her attention.

"Lift it up."

Maliko's jaw dropped.

"W-what!" she asked, almost squeaking.

"I'm gonna bandage up your ribs and then we're going back to the apartment." He said as he unrolled the bandage's from the roll.

"No, I'm staying here and getting the Kaiten right." she huffed stubbornly.

"I didn't say you had a choice, now lift up your shirt." he shot back sternly.

"No!" she yelled as she slammed her fists on the ground and flinched from the movement by her ribs.

"Now Maliko." Gaara yelled back. When he saw that she wasn't going to listen, he reached over and grabbed the hem of her shirt. As soon as his hands touched the fabric there was a loud resounding slap that left Gaara with a shocked face.

Gaara withdrew his hand to look back at Maliko, her face pink with anger. Gaara would've felt bad if he wasn't so taken aback. She had slapped him. She had actually slapped him right across the face. No one had ever slapped him. Usually if it was intent on bruising, his sand would've protected him but the slap wasn't hard. Hard enough, but certainly nothing that would hurt him. Just the shock of it left him speechless.

He could do nothing more than watch her pick herself up off the ground and, clutching her ribs, storm away back to the apartment.

As she walked speedily through the streets, she barely saw the frightened looks people gave her before getting out of her way. Her mind was so clouded with anger that if she were to run into a pole, she wouldn't feel it, but rather keep storming on.

He dare think to order her around as if she was a pet.. She wanted to learn. She wanted to be strong for her sister, but Gaara thought to treat her like a child. He didn't know how it felt to feel useless. He had a power that hardly anyone could beat. But what did she have. The absolute offense that only worked if someone wasn't aware and eyes that could see all, but couldn't do anything but that because of how little she learned as a child. She felt useless and Gaara was only making her feel more so.

Tears prickled the corner of her eyes as she started to run through the streets. She tried to stave off from crying but she wasn't able to. She finally reached the apartment and ran straight to her room and dropped onto the bed and sobbed furiously into the pillow. He was so inconsiderate.

She was glad Itachi and Aysen weren't here to see the state she was in. She didn't need everyone else thinking she was a useless little girl that couldn't do anything but cry and feel sorry for herself.

Maliko's thoughts were interrupted when a slight knocking sounded at her door. Quickly she wiped the tears from her eyes and looked over to the door just as Gaara walked in. She had to hold in a smirk that began to form when she saw a slight redness on Gaara's cheek.

Gaara saw the momentary upturn on the corner of her mouth and glared.

"What do you want?" she asked haughtily as she crossed her arms.

Gaara could easily tell that she had been crying. He really didn't know why wanting to help her in such a small way would make her so upset. But then again, what did he know, he'd never really had to deal with girls before Maliko and Tazze.

"Why were you crying?" he questioned back, his voice void of any emotion.

"I wasn't crying, were you? You're cheeks seem a little red.. well maybe just the one side." Maliko retorted, letting her mocking be easily shown. Gaara's features turned harder and his mouth pursed down into a frown.

"You know... If you get upset and run away everytime you make a little mistake, you're never going to reach your sister..." Her triumphant face immediately cast down with his words. He could see her eyes start to glisten, and he could tell she was probably trying her hardest to hold back the tears.

"You're the one who wanted me to come back here because of a little injury. How am I ever going to learn something if you stop me everytime thinking that i'm a piece of glass that will break if something touches me." Maliko said, wiping at her eyes with her sleeve.

"It may have been little, but it would've been a hindrance and might have gotten worse." he replied as he moved a little closer to her, his face still stern. "If it gets worse, it will take longer for you to heal and that will just delay us in getting to the Sound."

Maliko's eyes clenched shut as she hugged her pillow to her chest.

"I just wanted to learn faster so we could go sooner. I'm falling apart without her Gaara." she cried as her fingers clutched the pillow case for dear life. "I thought I could go at least a month without her but I can't! I want to go get her now!"

"Stop it Maliko" Gaara ordered sternly as he wrapped his fingers around her arm. "We'll go when everyone's ready. Orochimaru wouldn't take her just to kill her when they got back, and if you go rushing in there when you're not prepared, you're just going to risk your life as well as Tazze's. So bear with it for a little longer and i'll try to see if we can speed up the process. Alright?"

Sniffling, she nodded her head.

"Alright. Now first things first. You have to stop being so stubborn towards me." said Gaara as he went and grabbed some bandages. "Let me bandage your ribs and don't complain."

Looking down at her hands in her lap she muttered "Hai.." before she lifted up her shirt high enough for him to be able to bandage her ribs but not show anything. Wincing, she held it there while Gaara wrapped the bandages around her torso. For how brutal he was in battle, he was very gentle, making it so Maliko barely felt his soft touches. Maybe he still thought of her as a breakable object. She'll shatter with one tiny rough touch.

Thinking of this, Maliko's brow furrowed in sudden anger at Gaara. Even though she didn't make a sound, Gaara still saw her face.

"Don't start." he ordered. "Remember what I just said. If you're gonna be stubborn with me, i'll make it so you can't move from this room for a week." Gaara's tone was half serious and half teasing, and somehow it made her smile just the littlest bit. Noticing this, Gaara tugged slightly at her short hair and smirked.

"I'll go talk to Itachi about arrangements to leave a little earlier. Stay on that bed and don't move. You're healing for the day." With that said, he began to walk out of the room, but stopped when he heard Maliko's quiet voice.

"Gaara?"

He turned around, about to say "What?", but was cut off when soft lips pressed against his lightly. When she pulled away Gaara cocked an eyebrow questioningly.

"Thank you.." she muttered shyly, avoiding his gaze. Her blushing face made his mouth crack into a cocky smirk. Lifting her chin, he kissed her tenderly then parted to walk out of the room.

"No problem. Now get on that bed and don't move until I come back." and with that, he was gone.

Despite her cracked ribs, worry for her sister, and current stress, Maliko was absolutely beaming inside and out as she flopped down on her bed, wincing in the process. Sighing, she closed her eyes and licked her lips.

* * *

A/N i'm such a lazy bum. So sorry for the long wait.. man... its easier to write when i HAVE school cus then i feel like I have no life. But for summer, all i wanna do is hang out with friends and that doesn't give me time to work on this.. So sorry for the wait, I'll try to get the next chapter up as soon as i can.

Reviewwww!

Abayo

Malitia


	44. Progressions

a/n: MY COMP IS GAY! The keyboard would not work…so I wrote the story out…then I had to type it, when we did get a new keyboard. So I hope this seems well thought out if not, it's about high time this story came to a conclusion.

* * *

Chapter 44 - Progressions

A cool breeze caressed Maliko's face. She gazed towards the window, watching its curtains gently dancing in the morning wind. The sky was a dark blue, the sun not yet up in the sky. She could not discern the time, but figured it was quite early in the morning. Closing her eyes, she could feel something within her. Perhaps excitement. Fear?

She felt drenched in cold sweat. The past couples of days had been hell, with nightmares plaguing her sleep and a fear clenching her heart in the day. Tazze was almost always on her mind, what motivated her to get this far. A fortnight and a half passed since she first began her training. Nonetheless, she was certain she was prepared for this day.

Not wasting any time she forced herself to get up. Walking towards the open window she saw pink and orange just on the horizon. Exhaling heavily, she could feel that her previously fatigued muscles were now free from aches. Yesterday, all she did was meditate and other tasks. Gaara had suggested she rest up so as to replenish her strength and energy. Neji did not object saying that she was ready, or close to ready.

Wandering out of her room, she found Gaara lying on the couch.

"Gaara?" she said in a whisper so as not to wake Aysen nor Itachi. She crept towards Gaara, careful to avoid the spots on the floor she knew would creak loudly. Crouching down next to him, she whispered his name again.

"What's wrong?" he asked mildly, not bothering to open his eyes.

"I couldn't sleep. I…" she trailed off, not wanting to bother him with her dreams. She had been confiding in him a lot lately, and for the last few weeks as well.

Opening a single eye to gaze at her, he inquired. "Are you worried?"

Dropping her gaze to the floor, she nodded her head. "I don't even know what to think, if she was – " She cut herself off, shaking the thought out of her head.

Gaara propped himself up on his elbows, giving his full attention to Maliko. He knew something was bothering her. "I think I had a premonition…" she admitted, knowing she sounded crazy.

"What happened? One of your dreams again?"

Once again she nodded, "But this one was different. All the other times, I came so close to saving her…but this time, I left her. Or rather, she left me." She looked up to Gaara, catching his emerald gaze with her own. "She went into the darkness. I couldn't see her, Gaara. I couldn't see her…" She stopped herself, and attempted to choke back the tears that were coming.

Gaara felt a tinge of sympathy tug at his heart. Seeing tears form in her eyes, he knew this was painful for her. Sliding off the couch, he took his place next to her on the floor, embracing her in his arms.

_Maliko ran next to Gaara, as if escaping something. She was scared, but did not know what she feared. She kept glancing back, down the dark halls. Just as in her recent dreams, she felt frantic having lost something. Creatures appeared out of the dark corridors chasing them down. Creatures that she would not dare to confront on her own; their very appearance was terrifying. But somehow, she couldn't run as fast as she wanted. A feeling as if someone had put weights on her limbs held her back._

_Then they would appear outside, having obviously escaped the creatures. But for some odd reason Maliko could never remember ever fighting these creatures off. Darkness. There was always darkness. Once outside she was compelled to search the surrounding vicinity. The large moon would hang in the sky lighting the area up. Shadows licked at their heels, and invisible hands would brush by them. _

_The moon was being covered up. Maliko tried her hardest to catch Gaara, not wanting to be left in this nightmarish world. The darkness came in close to her, but eerily a light would remain on her. In front of her, a dark, cloaked figure appeared. She watched, not sure what to think. If she had wanted to run, her legs would not obey. She stayed rooted to her spot. The cloaked figure drew nearer, drawing a katana. Tazze appeared. To Maliko's horror, rather than help her, Tazze sided with the cloaked assailant. Nearing her, Tazze took the katana in hand, ready to attack her._

"It's just a dream," Gaara comforted the Hyuuga.

"I know, but it was so different from the others ones…I dunno," she looked up to Gaara. "Do you think we should wake Aysen and Itachi up soon?"

"Oh, they're up," he replied nonchalantly. With a half smile, he added, "They felt it better that they let you get some rest."

Cocking a brow, Maliko merely punched him playfully on the shoulder. "So, where'd they go?"

Seeing him shrug in response, Maliko knew that Gaara was just as clueless as she was at the moment. Though he was successful in getting a smile from Maliko, as well as a punch, Gaara knew that something was still bothering her. Not feeling like one to pry he left it for when she felt ready to confide once more in him. Even if she did not say anything, he knew it was about Tazze.

* * *

Sitting in a nicely shaded region under a tree, Aysen could feel the dew on the blades of grass around her. With her legs folded beneath her, and her eyes closed, she focused her thoughts. She needed to clear her mind, in order to do well on this mission. Every time she was remotely close to achieving mental clarity, something always came up. She worried about Maliko's well-being, and prayed to Kami-sama that she would not act irrationally and charge into Oto.

Another thought had also come to mind, one she was not too sure she should dwell on – Uchiha Itachi. Yes, he had trained her for the past three weeks. And yes, he was very professional in doing so, however, she couldn't help but sense that something was also wrong. She questioned whether the two men that Maliko and Tazze had arrived with were really as eager to get Tazze back. Uchiha made no attempt to hurry Aysen, or so it seemed. His whole attitude was_ too_ professional. Sitting there, made her realize that he hardly ever displayed any distinct emotion. Never was annoyed with her, or anything.

'How could Tazze stand him?' she thought to herself. Still, being with him was no nightmare. He was rather attractive looking. To her chagrin, a smirk had formed on her lips.

"We'll be leaving in an hour."

The voice startled Aysen out of her meditative state. She lost her train of thought, and was rendered speechless. Failing to gather her thoughts up, she merely nodded. For some odd reason, Aysen just hoped that he had not been reading her thoughts, as it coincidently seemed to be for most cases. As a result, she was convinced he could, just as the Hyuuga that was training Maliko could. With their attention to detail an above average perception, it was as though they did have such abilities.

Opening her eyes, she saw a few birds flutter just overhead. Seizing this moment, Aysen figured this was as good a time as any. "Are you just as eager as Maliko to get Tazze back?" she inquired with surprising directness. After all, she had to find out for herself. Maliko's assurance was just not adequate enough, especially after hearing what Gaara had to say.

She remembered when the two of them were sitting outside, just looking up at the night sky. Feeling a bit uncomfortable, Aysen had inquired about Gaara and Itachi's intentions, and whether they were as dedicated as they were. Maliko had seemed very confident they were, and admitted that her trust in Itachi had been shaken at one point. Having had a similar conversation with Gaara before, when she was eager to leave to Oto, Maliko doubted Itachi wanted to rescue Tazze.

Gaara had told Maliko, that it was hard to tell what Itachi was thinking, even though the two had been partners in the Akatsuki for some time now. Hearing that he had slaughtered his entire clan, save his younger brother, Maliko was confused about his intentions.

That very confusion and doubt now plagued Aysen.

"It would not be in anyone's best interest to allow Orochimaru control of the two most prominent and powerful bloodlines in Konoha," he replied mildly. "Especially ours," Itachi added, referring to the Akatsuki. With that said, he left Aysen sitting on the dewy grass.

* * *

Elsewhere, not more than a few hours earlier, before dawn even broke, Orochimaru thought it appropriate that Tazze display her newly acquired skills. The dark room appeared as an arena. It was dimly lighted, a single light right in the middle, leaving the dark edges out. A soft crunching of the dirt could be heard, as it was scuffed aside by people lurking in the near darkness. Tazze rose from her kneeling position, eyes closed as she tried to discern the number of attackers she would get this time. This test came usually once every week. It sounded like more than three.

Fading into the darkness, anybody who could have been watching could hear the battles in the arena below. Tazze fought for her life, knowing _they_ would give no mercy. It was just one blur to her. She had to make sure that no one would try to take her from behind. When the commotion ceased, Tazze emerged, specks of blood splashed on her cheek.

A resounding noise began, coming at regular intervals. An applause from Orochimaru, Tazze figured. Orochimaru stepped into the dim light not too far from where she stood. The usual smirk on his face, proved that he was pleased by her progress. That, or he was ready to say something snide.

"Quite an improvement given that you came to me as a weakling, barely capable of doing anything without her little katanas," Orochimaru remarked. "I knew you were capable of so much more. It was just a matter of who was training you."

With the back of her hand, Tazze wiped the blood off her cheek. "And I am thankful that you devoted your time to training and helping me improve."

* * *

A/N: Okay, I'll end there just so Melissa can do what she had in mind.

Melissa – OMFG terri thank you so much! I needed to figure out a way to do that and i'm so glad u did it for me. I was having so much trouble figuring out Tazze's little "predicament" and how i should do it. U made quite a good idea there. GAH! Yay! Sorry i didn't write much of this one guys.. i'm on vacation and Terri seemed bored. Well review and i'll be more than glad to update!

Abayo

Malitia ---- REVIEW !

Terri ----- I'm so cool -----Melissa Snicker


	45. Malicious Flashbacks

A/N – Sorry for the late update once again. I'm still on vacation and having a horrible time at that.. i'm stressed and it appears that my smoking habits are rising again because of it. Anyways, i'll try to do my best on this chapter, but considering im extremely pissed off, it might not turn out that well. Sorry.

Read On!

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Chapter 45 – Malicious Flashbacks

Maliko, Gaara, Itachi, and Aysen bolted through Konoha's outlying forest, dodging trees and muttering orders of how to go about the situation once they got to Oto. Gaara could easily tell that Maliko was jittery about what she would find once she got there and he prayed to Kami-sama that she would keep a rational mind and not endanger herself more than needed. Her training had done her well, but she would need to remember it all in battle and if she was scared and irrational, she would not fare well.

Aysen kept glancing over to her childhood friend wondering the same as the red haired man. Is Maliko going to be alright? Although Tazze was also her friend, she was more worried for Maliko at the moment. Despite what danger Tazze may have faced in Oto, Aysen couldn't help think that Maliko had gone through just as much to see to it that she could get her sister out of there. Maliko's worry would undoubtedly peg her down and her full potential usually couldn't be reached during training because her thoughts always led back to Tazze.

The group of four had left an hour or so after dawn. Having a quick debriefing with the Godaime, they set out hoping to make it to the Sound as fast as they could. They wanted to get in in the early hours so the many inhabitants of the village would not be awake. The Godaime told them that a group of ten of her ANBU would meet them on the south side of the village so as to help in the retrieval of Uchiha Sasuke as well.

As they neared the Hidden Sound, they heard the sound of a crow and looked to the sky to see just that. The signal that the ANBU were indeed there and waiting for them. As they neared the assigned meeting spot, ten ANBU jumped down from the trees and the Captain turned to speak to Itachi.

"I'm going to send three groups of three ANBU to the North, East, and West gates. They have their radios so if they spot Tazze or Sasuke they will notify me." He stated quickly. Itachi nodded for the silver haired captain to continue. "I will be staying with your group so you will know as soon as possible when we find them"

He then turned to address his ANBU.

"If you find either Tazze or Sasuke, radio to me and don't take your eyes of them. Don't let yourself be seen. We don't know if they are in league with Orochimaru. Once we get the signal we will come to retrieve them."

Gaara turned to Maliko to see her eyes downcast. He knew that little saying about whether they might be in league with Orochimaru would tear at Maliko, but Kakashi was right. Nobody knew if Tazze would be naive enough to believe what Orochimaru told her.

* * *

Tazze awoke to a rising sun and a huge mess of hair. She had been so exhausted from Orochimaru's training last night that she hadn't even bothered to braid it and just decided to pass out as fast as she could on her futon. Looking around the room she noticed that Sasuke was still asleep, so she shrugged and started going at her hair before walking out of the hut and down to her favorite training spot in the trees.

Orochimaru had taught her many useful things but more importantly, made her see some common sense on her situation. Yes, she can admit it now, she was weak. And now she could see that not one person had really ever cared for her as much as her Orochimaru-sama. Throughout the whole time here, not one word was heard about her sister or Itachi trying to come and get her. She had asked travelers about whether they had heard anything on the where-abouts and doings of Hyuuga Maliko and Uchiha Itachi and found out that they were settling in Konoha.

Maliko went back to that horrible village. The village where everyone was out to get them. Would Maliko rather be in such a place than with her sister? Why in all the world would she go back to Konoha of all places and leave her own sister in Oto. Orochimaru told her why.

They thought of her as a burden, and this was the easiest way to get rid of her.

With her Byakugan activated and clenched teeth, Tazze dealt a heavy blow to a well worn tree base. She would find Maliko and she would find Itachi. Hell she would even find Gaara and she would make them all pay for thinking of her as a useless burden.

She was not a slave to be told to travel across the country side to retrieve her sister's heirloom staff. She was not a sacrifice so the more 'useful' people could go live cozily in Konoha. She was a skillful konuichi and she would make 'them' pay for treating her like shit.

* * *

_"Maliko.. Tazze.. I'm so proud of you." Ryuuchi Kaishi smiled down to her twins. "You're eight years old today and you are already so strong for such little girls. Your father would be proud."_

_"But Kaa-san! We only know basic jutsu's... When are we gonna learn our Bloodline techniques." the little girl with chestnut hair piped up, looking at her mother with big puppy dog eyes._

_"Yeah Kaa-san!" cried Maliko as she bounced on her bed. "When! When!"_

_Kaishi chuckled lightly as she tucked in her little girls in they're bed. The whole village had celebrated they're birthday that evening and even though the girls had such an eventful night, they were still so wired._

_"Well girls. I was going to wait until you turned ten, but you seem to be at a level now where I can start to teach you. Hold on a moment and i'll be right back." stated Kaishi as she left the room and came back moments later carrying two scrolls. One black and one white._

_Holding up the white one for the girls to see she told "This one is for both of you to learn from. Your father brought it here for you girls. I will try my best to help you with it, but it is not my bloodline and I don't know much, just what your father told me when we were children."_

_"If that one's for our Byakugan, then whats the black one for Kaa-san?" Tazze asked. _

_Kaishi held up the black scroll for their eyes to see. "This one is for Maliko-chan. This is so you may learn the skills of your Barakkugan, if i'm not around to help." With these words she could see Tazze's eyes go downcast with sadness. But Maliko's face lit up even more as she looked hungrily at the scroll._

_"Tazze-chan, don't look so sad. You should be happy with what your father blessed you with. Just because you don't have the Barakkugan doesn't mean that you can't be great yourself." advised Kaishi as she ruffled Tazze's hair and pulled up the blanket to her chin._

_"Hai, Kaa-san." replied Tazze with a forced smile._

_"Get some rest girls and we'll start on these in the morning" said Kaishi with a soothing voice that only a mother could produce as she held the scrolls in her hands. Blowing out the candle, she gave both of the girls a kiss on the forehead and walked out saying "Oyasumi nesai darlings".

* * *

_

Maliko remembered the look on Tazze's face when their mother stated that the black scroll was only for Maliko. She knew her sister was sad about the fact that she had very little to compare to their mother. While Maliko had both her hair color and bloodline.

Tazze would talk to Maliko about everything that troubled her mind, but Maliko never once heard her talk about the Barakkugan or how she felt about their mother. She knew Tazze loved their mother, but that was just because she was her mother. As for Maliko, it felt like her mother was her friend as well.

Maliko sighed, impatiently tapping her foot as her group waited for the order to go in. It was her job to sneak in first using the shadows and her Kage Burendo no Jutsu to see if the coast was clear.

Finally the other groups tuned in on Kakashi's radio and gave the signal that they were in their spots. The silver haired captain nodded to Maliko and she ran to the shadows that came off the tall outer walls of the Sound Village.

She whispered "Kage Burendo no Jutsu" and inched along the walls in her concealed state to see that there was but one guard. Going up behind him, she put her four fingers under her eye and whispered "Kai" and immediately her left eye turned pure black with a single white pupil. Focusing on the blood cells in his throat, she reached out with her shadowy hand and gripped.

The guard let out a startled cry at having a hand go around his throat, but before he could react, Maliko pumped her black chakra through her hand to target all the blood cells that her hand surrounded. Immediately the mans throat turned black and deteriorated, killing him.

Sealing her Barakkugan once again, she ran to the gate and waved her hand to the group, motioning it was okay to enter.

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**A/N** – There you have it, another chapter. It was hard to write cus Kami-sama knows, I have no inspiration when i'm steaming mad. My vacation is turning out to be hell. Well anyways u all don't care about that. Enjoy your own holidays and don't follow in my footsteps of bad times. I'll try to update again soon, but i doubt that'll happen so i dont' promise anything.

Heres some replies to my wonderful reviewers:

Terra Goddess – Thank you for your two wonderful reviews. You really boosted my ego and made it more enjoyable for me to continue this story. And don't worry, Maliko and the group are on their way.

Mizuseishin24 – I'm glad you like Tazze the best. That'll make Terri happy for sure. Thanks for reviewing.

FireAndStealthNinja – Fumbles with kunai and shurikan.. I CAN'T SEEM TO NINJA OUT! AHHHHHhHhHHhH! Lol thanks for the review.

M – Thanks for reviewing!

Sakura Trees - I sure did add you! But u already know that. Thanks for the review!

Fallen fox – Glad you liked it!

Xkuroxshinobix – hmmm that is something to think on. I don't even know that right now lol. Thanks for the review!

Ellen – Banzai!

itachi349 – Lol sorry that it takes me so long to update. It must get annoying to keep checking and not have anything there. Gomen. Thanks for the review.

Dreaming-Nightingale – Lol actually.. i never planned on having that dream in there, but Terri just conjured it up so maybe it'll be some symbolism somewhere that relates to it.

Anukis-san – Ya theres been a lot of 'just moving things along' chapters. Sorry there hasn't been any action lately. Thanks for the review.

MisSs005 – Hmmm interesting idea.. maybe i'll kill them all! muahahhahaha. Just kidding. You'll just have to see what happens **-smirks evilly-**

RLnaruhina – I shall check out your "A Strange Meeting" story. Thanks for the review!

Darkninjafromhell – Sorry that i've been doing shitty chapters lately, i've been having a bad time on vacation and such, i'll try to do better. Thanks for the review.

**Done and Done...REVIEW!**

**Abayo**

**Malitia**


	46. Encounters

A/N – Sorry for the lateness.. i know its been like.. a month but graar.. i've been having problems at school and problems with friends (which i don't seem to have anymore) so... theres my excuses... ok anyways i'll get to the point.

Read on!

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Chapter 46 - Encounter

It seemed like hours ago that Maliko's group had entered Oto and nothing had been accomplished except for about five Sound nins on the ground with deteriorated throats. Letting out a frustrated growl, she activated her Byakugan and searched the surrounding area for enemies or her sister. Just seeing a couple of villagers she turned it off and shook her head to the rest of the group.

"This is taking too long, I wanna find my sister and get out of here." she testily stated in a hushed voice while clenching her staff in her hand. She had remembered to bring Tazze's katanas in case there was a fight where her sister would have to join in. The twin katanas hung in sheaths on her back. It made her feel weird. She had never wore her sisters katanas before. For some reason it made her uneasy.

Out of the silence of the group came a soft crackling from the radio.

"We found the Hyuuga sir. She's in the North-West side of the village. Approximately 85 feet South of the North wall. Over."

Kakashi immediately responded, "Alright, radio to the others and make sure they surround that area in case any Sound nins notice. Once you're done that, go ahead and search for Uchiha Sasuke. We'll be there in two minutes. Over."

"Hai."

Itachi and Gaara turned they're gaze away from Kakashi to notice they were missing a person.

"Shit! Where'd she go!" Gaara growled out, looking around. "She's gonna get herself killed."

"She probably got impatient and went to where Tazze is. If we hurry we can catch up with her before she gets there."

* * *

Kunai riddled targets around the clearing in the trees as Tazze stood in the middle, trying to aim at a target that stood directly in her blind spot. Calculating where her vision ended, she threw directly off from it. Hearing a thunk she turned around to see her kunai embedded just a fraction off from the center. Grimacing at the imperfectness, she got ready to throw another.

That is, until she heard rustling in the trees. Did someone foolishly think they could sneak up on her? She would probably hear them panting in the trees if it wasn't for the twigs snapping. Tazze decided to pay it no heed. If they weren't stealthy then how the hell could they be any threat.

Turning back towards the target she looked upon her kunai. Shrugging, she walked over and pulled it out and slid it back into her holster.

"Tazze!"

Freezing completely, her blood boiling and running fast in her veins she turned slightly to see her sister a few yards away from her, standing just infront of the trees she came out of.

Maliko watched as her sister turned toward her and was confused to see the look of pure hate in her eyes.

"T-Tazze? ... We've come to take you back... We...We should hurry back to the others." Maliko stated cautiously, occasionally stuttering while her sister looked at her with the foreign gaze.

"..No."

"W-..What!"

Tazze took out a kunai from her holster and crouched in a ready position.

"I'm staying here with Orochimaru-sama. I'm found somewhere that I am respected as a kunoichi and I don't intend to leave." Tazze replied in the harshest tone Maliko had ever heard come from her.

"What are you talking about? We respect you! Orochimaru is nothing but a murderer! Do you not realize who he is and what he-"

Maliko was silenced with a yell from her sister.

"You know nothing of Orochimaru-sama. He has made me stronger and he doesn't make me go out to gather things that he so carelessly might have left somewhere else. He also put in effort and saw my potential. Don't you dare even speak his name, filth" She spat out, looking at her twin in complete disgust.

The orange haired girl was completely speechless.

"Y-you... You don't remember do you?" Tazze quirked an eyebrow while still keeping her glare on her sister. "You don't remember that that... WONDERFUL person had your mother _killed_! All your village friends dead! Aysen's sisters' _throats ripped ou-"_

_"ENOUGH! _You speak nothing but lies!" and with that she threw a kunai aiming at her sisters heart. Maliko dodged quickly and got ready to fight.

"So you choose to gang up with the person that destroyed everything that you held dear?"

"On the contrary _sister, _he has given _everything _to me. Unlike you who sticks with the very organization that destroyed our lives. Orochimaru-sama did nothing to my precious people."

Tazze disappeared within the blink of an eye and reappeared behind Maliko swiping at her neck with another kunai but Maliko ducked and swung her leg behind her to kick Tazze's legs from beneath her.

Tazze pumped chakra to her feet and jumped, missing the kick and landing on a tree branch.

"Tazze! Stop it! I'm not here to fight with you! I want you to come back! Please!" Maliko begged as she looked up at her scowling sister. "Itachi wants you back as well, we all miss you!"

With the mention of Itachi's name Maliko saw Tazze's eyes soften, if only for a second before turning back into her death glare.

"No." deadpanned Tazze as she leisurely jumped off the tree branch to fall a few meters from her sister. As she hit the ground she was overjoyed to see twin black katanas on Maliko's back that she didn't notice before. Also Maliko's staff was slung across her back but Tazze paid no mind to that, it was the katanas that she wanted. Her katanas.

"Byakugan!" yelled Tazze as tiny veins protruded slightly by her white eyes. She was happy to see a bit of fear spark in her sisters identical pearl eyes. Running towards the orange haired girl Tazze drew back her open palm, only to drive it forward aiming for her sisters heart.

Maliko shook herself out of her daze at how bold her sister was being, to dodge the gentle fist. She managed to evade the hand from hitting her heart, but in turn her left shoulder was grazed. Shooting pains immediately ran down her left arm as she clutched at it.

Without realizing it, the two katanas that were on her back were gone. Snatched away within a second's whim. And now stood her twin smirking triumphantly as she was once again reunited with her twin swords and her long, knee-length hair blowing in the slight breeze.

You're not cautious enough Maliko."

Tazze then began running at her, katanas drawn, and black chakra pulsing from the blades.

Maliko took a step back and went to start the Kaiten but realized that it was useless without her left arm. The full area around her would not be covered by chakra if every pore was not used.

Dodging blades left and right, she hoped to evade until she could find the right opening to hit and daze her sister for a moment. As she looked for an opening, she didn't see the black katana go through her thigh.

Gasping in pain she crumpled to the ground, clutching her thigh to slow the bleeding. Luckily the black chakra emitted from the blade would not affect her because of the same blood and chakra they shared.

That didn't seem to matter now since she was useless and couldn't run or evade. Tazze hovered above her sister, her sick smirk still in place. She drew the katanas back readying to finish her sister once and for all. Maliko clenched her eyes shut, thankful at least that she would die beside her last family member.

Just as Tazze was about to strike Maliko, she was tackled to the ground by a black blur. As she hit the ground the wind was forced from her lungs and she coughed and tried to regain air, while struggling to get the person off of her.

As twin black katanas lay a few feet away, Tazze tried everything within her memory on how to get someone off of her. She was about to bite into the person shoulder until she saw who was really on top of her and blushed.

Red eyes stared back at her somewhat angry and showing pity.

'Pity? He has no fucking right to think i'm pitiful!' Tazze thought in her fury. Rearing back her head and growling surprising Itachi a bit, she shot forward and sunk her teeth into his shoulder.

Itachi hissed and pulled his upper body away from her and lifting his hand up to see that there was blood where she had bit him.

With Tazze's hands free and Byakugan activated, she shot her chakra laden hand at Itachi's chest. Noticing what she was doing, Itachi put his arm in front of him to block the attack, which resulted in a slight ripping feeling coming from his arm.

From the force of the hit, Itachi was pushed off of her and she quickly scrambled from the ground to snatch up her katanas and stand at a ready, waiting for an attack from either the man she adored, her hurt sister, or the furious red haired man at Maliko's side.

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A/N – I'm sorry for this EXTREMELY late update. You have no idea how busy i am. I barely have time to eat or sleep. Its like rush to school, rush to work, then come home and try and do ur homework, but passout before u even start.

GAH! I can't go on! I know this is tedious for u all ... but i really don't kwno when the updates will come. I'll try my hardest since its in an important part of the story now, but please don't be angry. I'll get to it when i have spare time. Long weekends coming up so hopefully that will get me going. Review and get me motivated and make it coem faster!

Abayo

Malitia


	47. Fighting Siblings

A/N – Um... ya i'm gonna try to get this in eariler than my usual 2 week updates... dont' count on it though lol.

Read on!

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Chapter 47 – Fighting Siblings

Uncountable grains of sand hovered in the air a few feet atop they're heads. She knew she should be scared shitless, but she didn't feel it at all. She was excited. They weren't trying to restrain her much anymore, but morely attacking. That meant that she was being recognized as a skillful opponent.

Without warning, the sand shot down towards her. Furrowing her brow, she stood at a ready, waiting for it to crash down onto her.

"Gaara! Don't kill her!" Itachi yelled back at the furious red haired man that was struggling with Maliko. As soon as Gaara had begun the attack, Maliko began thrashing at him. Even though her sister had attacked her, she apparently didn't want anyone to attack Tazze. Gaara didn't care. He was blind with rage that Tazze would attack Maliko.

The sand hit the ground and began to surround the scowling Tazze. But for some reason it was creating a sphere around the girl. Gaara's eyes narrowed at the sands odd behavior.

From within the sand a muffled yell was heard.

"_KAITEN_!"

Maliko gasped while Gaara just stood gaping.

How was it possible for Tazze to learn the Kaiten? It had taken Maliko a month and she still wasn't perfect at it. And not only that, Maliko had to go straight to the Hyuuga's to be taught the technique. There shouldn't be any other Hyuuga's in the Sound. They all resided in Konoha.

Quickly calling back the sand, Gaara gaped openly at Tazze, as did Maliko and Itachi. Tazze stood tall and proud, a small smirk on her face.

"H-How Tazze? How did you learn that technique!" Maliko stuttered out.

"Orochimaru-sama has done many great things for me." the chestnut haired girl began. "When we couldn't find the scroll in Zetsumeigakure I was quite beside myself. Orochimaru-sama and his men scowered the place and eventually they found it."

Maliko sat stunned for a moment.

"You... YOU LET THAT BASTARD INTO THE VILLAGE!" screamed Maliko.

Ignoring her wounded leg, she picked herself off the ground and stood fuming with her hands clenched into tight fists. Her whole body was shaking with fury and her hair seemed a lot more brighter with the dark scowl on her face.

"You let the man that killed Mother into her village to defile the remnants! You are a disgrace to your family and village!" she yelled at her slightly faltering sister.

"Orochimaru-sama did not kill Okaa-sa-"

"You really are foolish! How can you not remember something like that. I..I..."

Maliko stumbled on her words for a bit as frustrated tears rolled down her cheeks and her bangs covering her eyes. Lifting her left hand and placing four fingers underneath her left eye, she shot her head back up to look at her sister.

"_I'll kill you!_.. BARRAKUGAN! _KAI_!"

* * *

Itachi looked back and forth between both girls as they began arguing about Orochimaru entering the village. He could tell Maliko was fuming and glancing back to Tazze. He could see her smirk begin to falter. All went quiet for a moment and Itachi couldn't tell why since they were both just screaming at each other. Seemingly out of no where he heard Maliko scream.

"_I'll kill you!_.. BARRAKUGAN! _KAI_!"

Whipping his head back to Maliko, he saw her break into a run as Gaara lunged to grab at her so she couldn't do anything. She dodged and dashed towards a stunned Tazze. Itachi was confused for a moment. Tazze wasn't moving, just staring straight ahead with sad eyes, not even acknowledging the death threat that came her way.

* * *

For some reason it was always in the back of her mind, but she never really thought about her Okaa-san's killer. It had always frightened her. She just vaguely remembered the piercing gold eyes. Her eyes became foggy and unfocused as she vaguely remembered that day. The voices distant and echoing in her head.

_"Destroy the village. I want no one left alive but the Hyuugas."_

It was definitely a man's voice. Furrowing her brows she tried to remember more.

"_You are my daughter, great things are expected"_

_"Keep safe. I'll be watching..."_

Tazze blinked back tears as she remembered her Mother's dying words. What would her Okaa-san say if she saw her daughters fighting like this. Aiming to destroy each other. Gasping, another person's voice filled her mind followed by a familiar one. One that she had obeyed for the last month.

_"Orochimaru-sama! They are still but children. Would it be wise to take them now if their abilities aren't developed?"_

_"Hai, you're right. Take extra care in seeing that the Zetsumeikage is annihilated."

* * *

_

Itachi was shocked to see Tazze drop to her knees with her hands covering her face. He heard a sharp intake of breath as Tazze's back shook. All of a sudden Tazze started to scream as if her heart was exploding and shattering to a thousand pieces.

This didn't seem to faze Maliko as she still ran towards her sister with black chakra forming at her palm. Gaara was close behind trying to grab at her.

Reacting quickly, Itachi dashed to Tazze, clutched her around the waist, and leapt out of the way of the oncoming onslaught.

Maliko barely missed and she stopped, surprised to see Tazze and Itachi fall to the grass a few inches away. She readied herself again but was tackled to the ground almost immediately after she stopped. Struggling, she tried to get Gaara off her so she could kill her sister for her insolence.

"Maliko settle down! Do you really want to kill your sister!" he yelled at her as he fought to hold her thrashing form down.

"_YES!" _she screamed back, trying to claw at his arms so he would let her go in the process.

"Too bad because i'm not gonna let you." Gaara replied. Grabbing her roughly before she could react, he leapt to the trees and went a little ways off so Itachi could deal with Tazze. When he felt they were far enough away he dropped Maliko. She immediately tried to run back to the clearing but sand obstructed her way. Gaara had created a dome around the both of them.

* * *

Itachi pulled himself up to kneel on the ground beside Tazze. The chestnut haired girl was curled into a fetal position with her back to him as she sobbed hysterically while clutching her hair as if meaning to rip it out. Itachi reached out to touch her shoulder but she flinched away.

"Tazze..."

"I'm so sorry...Itachi-kun..." the small girl said between sobs.

"It's alright. You didn't realize." he replied softly, reaching out to touch her again. She didn't flinch away this time, but seemed to slow down on the crying. She shakily sat up and turned toward Itachi.

Itachi's eyes widened when he saw her face. The redness in her cheeks from the crying seemed to bring out a newly formed scar over her left eye. It looked identical to Maliko's seal except instead of it being black and smooth, it was a whitish color, like all scars, and jagged, obviously from being cut with something.

"What happened!" he asked as he ran his thumb over the scar. Her glistening eyes turned cold at the question and she replied back through clenched teeth with complete loathing.

"Kabuto-teme did it.."

"You shouldn't speak my name so harshly Tazze-chan!" came a sick, teasing voice from the trees making Tazze jump. Itachi immediately got up and stood in front of Tazze in a defense position.

A mocking laughter came from the trees but Itachi couldn't tell from what direction. "Reunited I see? Hmmm.. Orochimaru-sama will be glad."

* * *

A/N – Ahhh a nice night off for once in my life. Sorry for the late update. I absolutely loved all the reviews guys. WHOA BLACK BETTY! damn... it always takes so long for me to write a chap cus i'm so A.D.D. Everytime i try writing and my musics on (which it always is) i end up singing and get my mind in a different place. Awel. Hope u liked the chap. I'm trying to keep it as upbeat as possible. Anyways

review lovelys

Abayo

Malitia


	48. Trepidation

**A/N** Eternal Annoyance -

OMFG! This chapter was a pain…a real pain to write. I haven't really done anything…so this chapter may seem like a stretch just to write something. I was kinda conflicted as to how the presentation of the story would be….but you'll find out when you read this chapter what made it kinda hard for me….

But yah…I have nothing really to say…except that I sure to hell hope you review! Ahaha, I require feedback at this point in time, seeing as I had written this chapter once before….but Melissa didn't really like it and so I just went over it and changed some things.

Ah well…read on…

Malitia -

Sorry guys.. its my grade twelve year... i've been swamped with essays and the like and couldn't find time to write a chap, lucky for us, Eternal Annoyance and her good sweet heart got the chap done up and here i am as of now doing some minor changes. Hope it doesn't take this long again. Well On With IT!

* * *

**Chapter 48 - Trepidation**

Just as quickly as he appeared, Kabuto was gone. Itachi turned to see Tazze standing there with concern clearly evident on her face. Finally, she let out a heavy sigh, her eyes diverted to the ground before her. Loose strands of her brunette hair fell forward caressing her cheek.

"He's probably going to report this to Orochimaru-sensei," she said, with a defeated attitude quite evident in her soft voice. "He's going to find out how I was unable to defeat Maliko and how I just gave up."

Itachi gracefully stepped up to stand in front of her. As if on cue, Tazze lifted her head, only to meet his crimson eyes with her own pallid orbs. Trepidation

"Tazze," Itachi said as he gently ran his hand up her arm to her shoulder. He wanted so much to comfort her.

Tilting her shoulder back, Tazze made a weak attempt to shake his hand off. Turning her gaze away from him, she looked to the direction of the Oto village. "I don't know what to do, Itachi," she said finally. "I just…"

He knew she was struggling. She was struggling with the idea that she betrayed her lineage by letting Orochimaru into Zetsumeigakure, and by the fact that she already pledged her services to the same man who killed her mother. In a way, he could relate to her. After all, he did kill his entire clan, and disowned his village only to commit his services to the Akatsuki in their pursuit of power. But he didn't do all this under the manipulation of the Akatsuki. Therefore, he could not completely understand her emotions.

"You can stay with us.. Maliko won't hurt you, you're still her sister." Itachi told the depressed girl. "I'll ensure your protection."

Pulling away from him, she walked but a few steps away. "How can you say that. You killed your own family and you say that you know she won't hurt me?" she demanded in frustration as she turned to look back at him. "I'm not scared of Maliko if thats what you think. I'm scared of myself and what i'm doing. I don't want to kill my family like you did, and I didn't want to betray them!" Tazze stated, still yelling.

Itachi kept his face void of emotion, letting her vent off her anger. "I can't block out my devotion to my family like you do! And I can't keep being protected either!" she stressed. Then, letting out another frustrated sigh, she ran a hand through her brown locks. She continued on, but now spoke in a calmer tone, "What happens when you can't be with me? What if….what if you die, Itachi? What will I do?"

She stood there, waiting for Itachi to answer. When she did not get any answer she glanced over at him, searching for something that would help her with her dilemma. "I don't want you worrying about me. I can take care of myself. The last thing I would want is to be dependent on someone again."

"And going back to Orochimaru doesn't fit in that category?" he inquired nonchalantly.

Before Tazze could argue her point, she noticed that Itachi suddenly became distracted. He was not looking at her, more like something behind her. She had not sensed anything because she was too hysterical, and right now she felt fear grip at her heart. It was as if her breath caught in her chest. She was praying to Kami-sama that it was not Kabuto or another one of Orochimaru's lackeys.

"Itachi," the voice said with cold hatred.

Immediately, Tazze knew who had just arrived. Uchiha Sasuke. She wasn't sure if this was better than Orochimaru being here, but it was definitely not a good thing. Quickly turning around, she saw him there.

'He must have come when he heard about Maliko being here,' she thought to herself. 'Orochimaru must be coming here soon as well…'

Seeing the hatred and anger on his face along with the Sharingan, Tazze suddenly felt another wave of fear, and concern. Turning her head, she glanced back at Itachi. She felt utterly lost and confused. What was she to do? If they fought, that wouldn't help the situation and she really didn't want either of them being killed. Itachi's suggestion of running away suddenly became a lot more tempting. Biting her lower lip, she closed her eyes to quickly review her options.

* * *

"Let me out!" Maliko screamed at Gaara. "You let me out of here, right now you asshole!"

"I told you before," Gaara said calmly as he watched Maliko try to punch her way out of the sand sphere. "I can't. What don't you understand?"

"She has to pay!" she screamed. Then turned to Gaara, and charged for him, getting ready to deliver a punch to his face.

Just as quickly as she lunged at him, Maliko was flat on her back, with the wind knocked out of her. Gaara stood over her, shaking his head in annoyance. "What would happen if I let you out of here? You'd run to your sister, then what? You'd try to kill her and then you would have to go through Itachi. What if you did kill her, what then," Gaara posed the questions. "Would you be content knowing that you're the only one left of your village? That you killed your sister, the only family you have left?"

Coughing trying to catch her breath, she pulled herself up slowly. Maliko hugged her knees to close her. "Why did she have to go do something stupid like that?"

"Look, Itachi is talking to her right now," he told the orange haired girl. "I think you might have brought her out of some sort of state. She looked shocked, as if she didn't know what she was doing."

"Yeah...," she agreed absent-mindedly, depressed.

"Orochimaru tends to have that affect on people, I guess," Gaara said as he sat down next to her. "He did the same thing to Uchiha Sasuke."

"Itachi's brother?" she asked as she turned her head to look at Gaara.

Noticing that her cheeks were kind of wet from tears, Gaara knelt in front of Maliko and reached forward to brush her bangs back. "Are you okay Maliko?"

Shaking her head, Maliko bit down on her lower lip, trying to fight back her tears. "This is all my fault.. None of this would've happened, if I- " Her voice was choked back by her soft sobbing.

Leaning forward, Gaara pulled Maliko into an embrace. "There's nothing you could've done.. This was Tazze's decision. Everything will be fine once we get out of here with your sister."

Maliko was soothed by his voice and his heart beat as she rested her head on his chest. "I guess she did look shaken…"

* * *

Tazze stood with her eyes closed, going through her options in her mind. She could hear Sasuke walking closer.

' If I left with Itachi just moments earlier, maybe we could have avoided this situation ', Tazze thought to herself. Besides, deep down, even though she didn't want to admit it to anybody, she still wanted Orochimaru to train her. She wanted to be just as skilled as any of his best subordinates, whom in her eyes, were among the very best shinobi. It was for this reason she doubted the Akatsuki would help; it would be the nine of them versus Orochimaru, his very best soldiers, and the whole of Oto. Plus Itachi and Gaara had cut off ties with the organization and couldn't really depend on them.

"Little brother," Itachi said.

Just as quickly as it took for their 'pleasantries' to be over, Tazze felt a breeze pass by her. With her attention grabbed by this, Tazze saw Itachi dodge a fist from his brother. Seeing how quickly they utilized their jutsus, Tazze felt powerless to stop them. Still, she knew she couldn't just stand there and watch. It was strange, she could see that they were talking, or perhaps yelling, who knows, but none of it registered.

Seeing Sasuke get attacked again and again, welled up a feeling of frustration in her. Quickly, she performed some hand seals, and vanished into the nearby shadow of a tree.

Having received a blow from Itachi, Sasuke was thrown against the ground. Falling forward, he spit out some blood. With the back of his hand, he quickly wiped blood from the corner of his mouth. Emerging from the shadow that was cast behind Sasuke, Tazze saw Itachi coming. Before Sasuke could run to attack him, Tazze quickly ran infront of him and wrapped her arms around his neck.

"No!" she yelled. Her eyes were closed, hoping that Itachi would stop before he went through them both with his attack. "Stop!"

Before Itachi could follow through with his attack, he stopped. Jealous rage consumed him as he saw her throw herself upon Sasuke who in which glared back at her, partly confused.

"Let go," Sasuke told her quite sternly. He tried to pull away, but she still held on.

"You guys can't do this," she spoke hurriedly but softly. "What if Orochimaru comes?"

"That's a good question." The voice was unmistakable. Orochimaru was already here.

Letting go of Sasuke with a gasp Tazze fell backwards to land in the grass as her heart raced with fear; not only for herself but for her two companions. Tazze quickly stood up beside Sasuke, and glancing back at Itachi, her eyes met with his. It was obvious that both she and Sasuke were apprehensive.

"I'm honored you came all this way to pay my village and myself a visit, Itachi-kun" Orochimaru sneered.

* * *

**A/N Eternal Annoyance: **...yahp….so I guess it seems apparent that I have no clue how to write fight scenes…well, more or less pertaining to the Uchiha Bros…

So review…yes?

Eternal Annoyance

**A/N Malitia** – It may be rough, it may be shitty.. but damnit chapter 48 is DONE! lets give a round of applause for Eternal Annoyance... She will eternally annoy me by making me beg her to write a chapter... damn her. Hahha anyways... review or she may never do this for us again! DO IT DAMNIT! Love and throat kicks!

Abayo,

Malitia and Eternal Annoyance


	49. Mind Games

A/N – lol i hate this story so much.. i mean.. i like it.. but i hate writing it... pisses me right off. Anyways, i've finally fought with myself enough to do this chapter up.. i so don't wanna do it...anyways

read on!

Terri – Okay, I'm not going to lie to you guys. But I just forgot where this whole fanfic is leading to, so you can understand how I was kinda at a loss of what to do when Melissa asked me to finish this chapter. Well…7 weeks later, here it is, chapter 49

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Chapter 49 - Mind Games

"I'm honored you came all this way to pay my village and myself a visit, Itachi-kun" Orochimaru sneered.

Glaring daggers at the legendary sannin, Itachi shot a glance toward Tazze and quickly grabbed her bicep, pulling her back more, away from Orochimaru.

"We're leaving." Itachi stated to Tazze, who in which gave a frightened look back. She may not have been scared going into battle with her sister, but against her sensei she knew she stood no chance. Not only were most of the things she knew perfected by him, but he had tricks up his sleeves at every turn.

Itachi looked back to Orochimaru to see him smirk which made Itachi furrow his brows in anger. With Tazze's arm still in his hand, he turned to walk away, but found his way to be blocked. Not by one nor two, but around twenty Sound nin.

"You won't be leaving Itachi. The girl brought you here just like I wanted and I'm not letting you slip out," the menacing voice of Orochimaru spoke out, eerily calm.

Feeling Tazze tense up he looked her way to see pearl eyes wide and lips slightly trembling.

"I...I'm so s-sorry Itachi-kun…" she stammered out as tears started to prick at her eyes. "I didn't know!" she screamed with watery eyes clenched. Her hands were fisted in his robe.

Itachi slipped an arm around her shoulders and leaned down to whisper in her ear, causing Tazze to shiver when his hot breath tickled her ear.

"Be ready to fight…Maliko and Gaara are nearby." He paused for a second as if contemplating something. Taking a deep breath, Itachi continued, "If I can't leave, I want you to go with Maliko and Gaara. They won't follow you, I'll make sure."

"Iie!" Tazze screamed, pulling back as if she had been burned. Itachi could see that she was trying to fight back a new wave of oncoming tears. All of a sudden Tazze turned to Orochimaru with fury etched on her face and tear streaming down her cheeks.

"Orochimaru you bastard! I'll kill you!" she screamed at the top of her lungs and lunged at her sensei. Tazze immediately went for the throat and when her finger almost got their target, they were wrenched away forcefully. Orochimaru's hands were clasped tightly around her wrists as he chuckled at the small girl.

"You think you even have a chance Tazze-chan? I taught you most of what you know. The only thing you could do to me would be to grovel at my feet." Tazze felt like her wrists were about to snap as Orochimaru tightened his grip on them. Then as if her wishes inside her head came true, he let go of her.

Her head snapped sideways and she stumbled slightly and ended up sprawled out on the ground in front of Orochimaru. The legendary sannin had backhanded her so hard her cheek had instantly started to bruise.

Holding her cheek to sooth the stinging feeling she could see Itachi in her peripheral vision looking like he was going to jump at Orochimaru at any moment. But what really caught Tazze's attention was the look that Orochimaru himself was giving her. Looking at him from her spot on the ground, he stood there proud, looking at her as if she was useless, just like how everyone else used to look at her. Her eyes became blurry as tears welled up and threatened to fall. But she refused to show him that she was weak.

She heard rustling behind her but couldn't bring herself to tear her glaring pearl eyes away from her sensei's golden ones. So consumed by hate, she didn't feel the sand fly past her head and barrel into Orochimaru. Itachi quickly lunged forward and hauled Tazze off of the ground and jumped back to where Maliko and Gaara now stood, while Orochimaru simply brushed the sand away from himself with a flick of his hand.

Itachi and Tazze came to a stop beside Maliko, and Tazze quickly took her sister into a fierce hug with tears streaming down her face.

"I'm so sorry Nee, I really had no idea that he was using me for such a scheme. I'm sorry Nee!" Maliko was surprised that her sister was so broke down by this that she had even reverted back to calling her by her old nickname that Tazze had given her.

"It's okay Tazze, I'm sorry that I pushed you to such a limit that you felt you needed more power,." she cooed back while stroking her sisters long chestnut hair as Tazze sobbed while clutching onto her sister. "And to go out looking for that power from a sick twisted bastard."

"Now Tazze, I want you to show me that newfound strength so we can all get out of here alive." Maliko's voice then went to a soft whisper in Tazze's ear. "And so you can go on to make lots of babies with Itachi-kun," she felt her sister tense and Maliko let out a little giggle as Tazze pulled away from her, hands covering cheeks trying to hide the deep blush from all that could see.

Itachi and Gaara rose a single eyebrow in unison and shrugged, deciding that they're crazy partners' antics could wait for later.

"Everyone ready?" Gaara asked as he started to see the Sound nins surrounding them twitch with impatience to begin the battle.

"Hai!" Maliko and Tazze yelled out and Itachi giving a nod of his head.

Before they could even leap at a single nin though, there were already screams of pain emitted from five of them on their left. Shooting their heads sideways to look at what was happening. A large spear with a katana at the end twirled and fell from the sky above, digging itself into the dirt an inch away from spearing through Itachi. Everyone around could almost see a hint of concern written on Itachi's face before he quickly brought himself together and rolled his eyes.

Yanking the weapon out of the ground in front of him, he sent a glare to they're ally who had arrived with a bang to have all eyes on her. There stood Aysen, a huge grin plastered on her face. And just behind her stood Kakashi whose hand rested on Sasuke's shoulder. It didn't take someone with keen observation to notice that Sasuke was fuming mad. By seeing both the Uchiha brothers in the same the place, Kakashi only needed one guess to figure out what got Sasuke so riled up.

That, however, seemed to be only a part of his hate. The fact that Kakashi suddenly appeared, and with some crazed girl, did not sit well with the younger Uchiha. It did not seem to make sense to him why Konoha would send operatives here. Surely, this kunoichi could not have commissioned the help of Kakashi, one of the most elite and valuable shinobi to Konoha. He had already come to the conclusion that this girl was here for Tazze, since he saw disbelief etch itself on Tazze's face for but a moment.

'I doubt Tazze's friend and sister would go through the trouble of getting help from Konoha,' Sasuke thought to himself, 'Or the fact that Konoha would help knowing that the Akatsuki was part it...which means that Konoha agreed on the pretense of weakening Orochimaru and the Sound in some way.' Sasuke eye's shifted from the girl, to Itachi, then to his sensei, Orochimaru-sama. 'Of course, Kakashi is here. He knows that this curse seal is from Orochimaru-sama. No doubt that Tsunade agreed to helping Tazze's sister…and my brother…why else would she help, unless they made a deal…'

It all boiled down to Tsunade helping Itachi – at least in Sasuke's mind. And thinking about it made Sasuke so filled with hate, that his better judgments were blinded. His close-mindedness set in, and he couldn't believe Kakashi went along with it.

'We don't need rescuing,' Sasuke thought to himself, 'And I'm sure Tazze believes it too. But she is too easily swayed by her sister…we need to get back to the Sound village. _I_ need to go back.'

Sasuke saw Orochimaru looking at him, as though reading his mind. Just as the Sound nin were beginning to attack, Sasuke noticed a flicker of Orochimaru's hands. 'What jutsu is planning to us--'

His thoughts were interrupted suddenly by a loud pulsing in his chest. It felt as though some force were ripping the control of his body from him. He felt his mind adjusting to it, as it gave in. A feeling of following instructions that seems to be coming from his sub-conscious. Like a voice in his head, that he followed almost mindlessly.

Before the Sound nins made their advance, Tazze and sister, readied themselves. Standing with their backs to each other, Tazze could hear her sister saying something to her. But her voice was pushed to the background for what seemed like an eternity. In the distance she could hear Aysen's voice, as well as Gaara's….and Itachi's.

She had initially drew her kunai in preparation for the Sound nins, but something else was telling her that they weren't her enemies. As if in slow motion, Tazze could see clearly in her mind the situation. Widening her stance a bit, she turned herself, and could see her arm swinging back as she looked at the back of her sister. Just then, she could hear Gaara's voice, and Aysen screaming something to Maliko…or was it addressed to her? Who knows. She only knew one thing. 'Take Maliko.'

Maliko reacted to the calls from her comrades and evaded by quickly ducking down, only to be kneed in the shoulder. Falling backwards, she used the momentum, and planted her free hand down, she managed to quickly flip herself, so she was crouched but a few feet from her sister. Maliko stared in horror at her sister, speechless from her actions.

* * *

A/N: Terri - Man alive! After writing that, it's like I had an epiphany…or something, cuz now I have a cool plan…yesh, I can see it in my mind's eye. So, I'll just leave this chapter the way it is now…and I will get on writing chapter 50, and I sense the end of this fic coming soon. 


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